A Jewel in our community

Friday, 3 December 2021 17:40

By David Murphy

At the Jewel project are (from left) Benny Leitner, Jacob Olsberg, Cllr Richard Gold, Cllr Eamonn O’Brien, and Isaac Ginsbury.

Council chiefs have praised the tremendous work that a Prestwich organisation does to help the Jewish community and local businesses.

Cllr Eamonn O’Brien, leader of Bury Council, and Cllr Richard Gold, cabinet member for communities, visited the Jewel Foundation which is based at Sedgley Community Hub in Bishops Road, Prestwich.

Cllr O’Brien said: “It was a pleasure to visit the Jewel, especially at this time when so many in the local community are celebrating Hannukah.

“We are rightly proud that Bury is home to people of all backgrounds and beliefs, and working in partnership is crucial in making our borough a great place to live, work and study.”

Cllr Gold added: “Jewel does a tremendous amount of work, from helping businesses to providing support on everything from family matters to Covid-19. It also runs Sedgley Park children’s centre, as a base for services and activities to help and engage local residents, and act as a liaison point between the Haredi community and the statutory services.”

Jewel have submitted a bid for funding to the Neighbourhood Pitch for Prestwich to promote cohesion, raise cultural awareness and bridge the gap between residents, council services and other organisations. There will also be a focus on economic development and encouraging people to increase their skills – especially digital - and apply for local jobs in Bury.

Isaac Ginsbury, chief executive of Jewel, said: “We were delighted to welcome councillors O’Brien and Gold to our centre and show them the work that we do here and across the locality. I’d like to thank them for being attentive to the Haredi community’s needs, for respecting our way of life, and understanding the need for targeted services. It shows that by working together we can achieve so much more.”

For more information about Jewel, go to https://jewel.org.uk/about-us/