Jewish Care

People of all ages enjoy pre-Shavuot party thanks to Clifford Chance and Canary Wharf Group

Members of Jewish Care’s Stepney Jewish Community Centre, the Brenner Centre and Dennis Centre were guests at a pre-Shavuot party in May. The event, which was sponsored by Clifford Chance LLP and Canary Wharf Group plc, was held at the top law firm’s Upper Bank Street offices.

Guests at the sandwich and cheesecake lunch also included members of Nightingale (the south London care home), the East London Orthodox Synagogues Association and employees from firms based in the area.

After welcoming the 250 guests, Danny Seliger of Canary Wharf Group introduced the Menorah Primary School boys’ choir. They sang a medley of Hebrew songs. They were followed by entertainment from Sholom Erlanger, a teacher at the school. He kept everyone enthralled with his juggling skills.

Mr Seliger said the event was organised “because we don’t want the elderly people from East London to feel that they have been forgotten.” Noting that the area has changed considerably in the past few years, he added: “At Canary Wharf we now have over 90,000 people working and over 14million square feet of office space, so there’s a lot going on. As long as the older people feel they are part of everything, they are happy.”

He said the appearance of choir was arranged as a surprise especially for the guests “to give them some entertainment and some joy in life.”

Stepney Jewish Community Centre member Nan Nathan said: “It has been a wonderful afternoon and my friends have all enjoyed it as well. They [Clifford Chance and the Canary Wharf Group] are very kind to invite us here.”

Barbara Waterman, who is volunteer coordinator at the centre, said: “The members look forward to it and it’s the highlight of the year for them…and I enjoy it too!”

After lunch, Allen Martin of HSBC gave a short talk on the theme of Shavuot.