The “Centrale van Joodse Weldadigheid” is the umbrella organisation of the many institutions and activities, voluntary as well as professional, for the elderly, the sick, the destitute and the handicapped of the Antwerp Jewish Community. The Ladies Committee has its main voluntary activities centered around the”Parents' Home,” one of the principal institutions of the Centrale, the Service flats and the Club Shalom. Every year in October we host a big tea party to collect funds. This past year, the financial results were very positive.Our members collect funds from all parts of the community, money which is used mainly to buy expensive but invaluable medical and paramedical appliances. We originally started by procuring a few medical instruments, but as our activities developed, we became the biggest sponsors of the old-age home. Now we have expanded into buying furniture and domestic appliances for the Home.
We organise recreational afternoons in the Home at least once every month, when we also give gifts to all the residents. These afternoons give us the opportunity to collect funds from invited guests, and at the same time, the visitors can see what we have already done with their money.New projects are also introduced, so that the donors know where their money will go in the future.These parties are highlights in the lives of our residents; weeks afterwards they still take joy in them.
The Ladies Committee is a large group of women of all ages, background and social status.We all have one common goal, namely to help the poor and the elderly, to assist them when or wherever needed. We hope to continue our task with renewed courage and shall do our utmost to enlarge the number of our benefactors.
