The United Synagogue

USCC - Caring for our Members

Supporting our members in times of need is vital. We do this through our Synagogue-based US Community Cares groups (USCC). Within these groups we have nearly 1,000 volunteers caring for the emotional and practical needs of our members across the United Synagogue family. Whether it is home or hospital visits, offering a listening ear or practical help for new mums, our Community Cares groups are making a huge difference to the lives of our members on a daily basis.


USCC reflects the readiness of United Synagogue members to respond to other members who may welcome practical or emotional support or just befriending, in accordance with the Jewish ethos of caring for our fellow human beings. Volunteers help to create a network of support, especially at times of difficulty, and contribute to the well being of the community.


Our Community Cares groups offer a range of services to communities, such as home and hospital visits, financial and legal guidance, telephone care lines, bereavement befriending, and more.


We encompass 42 Community Cares groups under the direction of skilled Care Coordinators. Our aim is to ensure that all communities are able to care for members when they need them, or signpost them appropriately to other welfare agencies where required.


We are always striving to improve the support we offer by sharing good practice and listening and working with others engaged in this field. We would love to hear from you if you have ideas of ways we can improve the service we offer.


Centrally we support our Care volunteers through the provision of information, training, support and advice:


- We offer a wide range of training seminars and workshops to enable our Care Coordinators and Volunteers to develop their skills and share valuable information

- We organise networking forums to provide a means of communication for all those engaged in supporting members across the US communities

- We fund honey cakes at Rosh Hashanah and food parcels at Pesach for selected members, enabling our Community Cares groups to make a practical difference where it’s needed.


To see details of our current USCC activity take a look at the US Chesed section on the You and US website – www.theus.org.uk/chesed


Unfortunately, the demand for our services grows every year as our Coordinators identify more people in need of support. We are indebted to the United Synagogue community who fund every honey cake and food parcel delivered to a person in need and all of our training courses. Our vital work in this area relies on voluntary contributions. If you can support us please do get in touch.


And if you would like to know more about volunteering for your local Community Cares group, or know someone who would benefit from the support services our groups offer, again don’t hesitate to be in touch.


The USCC team:
Stuart Bloom - Chairman, USCC
Michelle Minksy - Head of US Chesed – minsky@theus.org.uk – 020 8343 5688

   ------------------------