The Leeds Jewish Representative Council (LJRC) has facilitated the first round the table meeting of representatives from a number of the city’s synagogues and larger organisations to discuss how they can work together to support the ever-increasing numbers affected by escalating prices.
Organisations represented included LJWB, LJHA, The Zone, Chabad together with UHC, Etz Chaim and Sinai synagogues. Ideas that emerged included providing warm spaces to socialise during the day and evening with fun programmes of activity for everyone to enjoy during the winter; cooking classes to learn how to make delicious, cheap, healthy, and easy to make meals; guidance and financial support to reduce bills and outgoings; collaborating with eco projects to help reduce consumption generally.
Susie Gordon, LJRC Chief Operating Officer, said: “We talked about how to maximise the limited resources we have and how to reduce any overlaps in projects. We looked at what already existed and what could be expanded upon as well as investing in new ideas.
“I want to say a huge thank you to those that took the time to meet and discuss an issue, just like COVID, which is aside from the normal day-to-day running of their organisation. The importance
of being able to work together well cannot be underestimated if we want to be as impactful as possible and be the community everyone is proud to be part of.”