The United Synagogue

Volunteer Of The Week

PRESS COVERAGE

London, 09th December, 2010

VOLUNTEER OF THE WEEK

SUSAN FREIBERGER
UNITED SYNAGOGUE, GOLDERS GREEN COMMUNITY CARES
The part-time book keeper has volunteered for the United Synagogue, Golders Green Community Cares since 1993. She mostly volunteers from her home in Golders Green unless out visiting an elderly member.

Why the US?

A few members of our United Synagogue community had decided to set up a care group and I was approached to see if I would like to visit an elderly lady.

My father had recently died and he used to work for a Jewish shelter charity and in his spare time he would pop his head round the door of the flats where he knew that the resident was on their own and had no visitors. This act of kindness inspired me to start volunteering.

What does your current volunteering role involve?

I am now the co-ordinator for US Golders Green Community Cares and have been for about 12 years. I interview and organise training for all the new volunteers. The work of our group is split into four main sections: home visiting, hospital visiting, befriending and bereavement. Our volunteers get involved in one or more of these areas.

I organise pre-Yom Tov telephone calls twice a year before Rosh Hashanah and Pesach and I follow up on any problems that arise from these phone calls, passing on what ever information that I have, in confidence, to the rabbi or to my visiting, hospital, befriending or bereavement co-ordinator.

I have certain members of the community who do not want to be visited and I ring them on a regular basis. I deal with whatever day to day caring that is required. That might mean organising shopping for someone who can�t get out, or organising meals to be cooked for someone who might be struggling.

I also meet up with my co-ordinators twice a year to discuss the progress of my group and to talk about any problems that we might have had.

And finally I act as a supervisor to my volunteers and they can contact me at any time to offload and discuss their visits or phone calls.

What do you most enjoy about being a volunteer?

The feeling of being able to put something back and to see the smile on someone�s face when you have managed to make something a little easier for them.

What is your most memorable volunteering moment?

With the support of the US Chesed department we were able to visit and deliver honey cake gifts to 45 elderly members of the community at Rosh Hashanah. The response to these gifts was wonderful.

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Article Credit, Jewish Chronicle, www.thejc.com