JLife speaks to Raphi Bloom about stepping into his new role as director of fundraising and marketing at The Fed.
US-born Raphi Bloom isn’t new to Manchester. Since attending Manchester Mesivta School in the early 1980s, the 49 year-old of Radcliffe has spent much of his life involved in the community. He has worked at The Jewish Telegraph and in 2014, founded North West Friends of Israel, the largest pro-Israel advocacy grass roots organisation in the UK. For the past four years he has held the position of senior fundraiser at the UJIA before taking up the role of director of fundraising and marketing at The Fed on 1st April.
“I can confirm It wasn’t an April Fools! The Fed for me has always been one of the pillars of the Manchester Jewish community looking after our elderly and vulnerable across all ages. So it was a real privilege to be invited to join such a phenomenal organisation and I’m excited about the challenges ahead.”
The Fed is best known for its work with the elderly at its sheltered care facility, Heathlands Village in Prestwich. However, Raphi is trying increase awareness around the breadth of its outreach programmes which extend to community members across all generations.
“One of the things I’m keen to focus on is telling the wider Jewish community that we care for three or four times as many people outside Heathlands Village as we do inside. We look after 400 community members on a weekly basis, including those facing loneliness, mental health issues and dementia as well as children who suffer from terrible abuse. We offer a range of advice and support which encompasses people from all demographics and areas.”
The Fed is one of many charitable organisations feeling the effects of funding cuts from local councils and central government, leading to much of its work relying on the generosity of the community.
“We need to raise a lot of money every year to run our services and I hope people will be receptive to that message. We’re grateful for every pound we receive, but to continue providing the levels of service that we do, we have to ask our community to continue to support us. We realise it’s not easy for people and there are lots of different demands on people’s time and resources, but we hope that our story is compelling and people realise that the work we do is literally life-saving.”
Raphi developed a personal connection with the organisation, when his father, Raymond, former head of Broughton Jewish Primary School received care from Heathlands Village following a stroke.
“Heathlands has always been a huge part of my life. I will always remember the wonderful care they gave to my father. Even as a teenager in the 1980s, I used to come here on a Shabbat afternoon to visit the residents and offer them company and conversation, so it’s great to be back here helping out.”
Tasked with engaging the wider community, Raphi emphasises the importance of developing relationships with first-time donors and is seeking to encourage Mancunian expats living in London to support the vulnerable in their home town.
“We need to look for new donors all the time. We’re not complacent, but we have to continually strive to do more. If we encourage someone to support us who hasn’t done in the past – it’s a very rewarding feeling.”
With four years spent at the head of the North West arm of the UJIA fundraising team, Raphi believes his previous work in the community has put him in good stead for the task ahead.
“I hope that people will know who I am and give me their time to hear what it is we do and why we need their support. Hopefully the work I’ve done both in my professional and voluntary roles will help me do that – but I’ve come into a great team, many of whom have been here for a long time and care passionately about the organisation.”
Asked about what he hopes to bring to the role, Raphi speaks of building on the organisation’s previous work to scale up its existing fundraising programme with a raft of new events.
“As an organisation we do a fantastic job already, but there’s always room for improvement.
We’re excited to launch our women’s sea-to-sea trek across Israel, which we’re hoping to make an annual event. We’re inviting those looking for a challenge to walk the 100K from the Mediterranean to the Sea of Galilee over four days in September.
“The challenge scene in Manchester tends to be very male dominated, so I felt that a women’s trek on such an iconic route would be the perfect way for women to test themselves while raising money for The Fed.
“We’re also running a sportsman’s dinner with Manchester Maccabi at the end of June, raising money for mental health projects, where Monty Panesar, Lee Hendrie and Graeme Fowler, all of who have suffered mental health issues during the course of their lives, will be discussing their challenges.”
Despite boasting over 400 volunteers across Manchester, The Fed is still seeking to increase its volunteer numbers and Raphi encourages everyone to consider contributing their time or money to help the most vulnerable in the community.
“We’re always looking for people to get involved, whether that’s raising money on a special birthday via Facebook or volunteering their time. Even just one hour a week can make a massive difference to someone who’s suffering from loneliness. It’s a wonderfully rewarding and makes a real difference to people’s lives.”
If you would like to participate in a fundraising opportunity on behalf of The Fed, please email Raphi at raphi.b@theFed.org.uk.
