Rabbinical Praise for Jewish Care
Melbourne’s Jewish Care has been praised for its proactive approach to community support and enhancements to its cultural and spiritual program by the Rabbinical Council of Victoria.
More than 60 Rabbis from across Victoria met last week at Jewish Care’s Mark and Dina Munzer Community Residence to review the year gone by.
Rabbi Yaakov Glasman, President of the Rabbinical Council of Victoria, said he was impressed with the way Jewish Care was proactively addressing preventative measures to help members of the community avoid crisis. He pointed to Jewish Care’s Saver Plus initiative, which teaches budgeting skills and helps families to meet their educational expenses by matching savings dollar for dollar, as one example.
Rabbi Glasman was also impressed by the organisation’s increased funding for cultural and spiritual services. “Financial investment by Jewish Care has allowed cultural and spiritual services to be expanded to a team of five full-time staff members, something that would never have imagined ten or even five years ago.”
Rabbi Meir Klugwant
Addressing the group, Bill Appleby, CEO of Jewish Care, said he regarded funding for cultural and spiritual services “an investment”. “We are committed to the unique values and qualities which define Jewish Care,” he said. “Through enhancement of Kashrut supervision and Shabbat and festival observance, and a focus on culturally appropriate staff education and training programs, we aim to be as inclusive as possible across all our facilities and services.”
Rabbi Meir Shlomo Kluwgant, Rabbi of Jewish Care and former President of the Rabbinical Council of Victoria, commented that the community served by Jewish Care encompassed a vast spectrum of religious observance and cultural expression, and the organisation works tirelessly to accommodate the wide range of sometimes competing requests, requirements and expectations.
