165 Years of Care
Victorian Premier and Minister for the Arts Ted Baillieu has formally recognised and congratulated Jewish Care Victoria on its pivotal role in the community.
Jennifer Huppert (Vice President JCCV), Bill Appleby (CEO Jewish Care), Jeffrey Appel (Co-Vice President Jewish Care), Mike Debinski (President Jewish Care), The Premier of Victoria Ted Baillieu, David Southwick MLA, Elizabeth Miller MP
The Premier addressed a crowd of approximately 200 Jewish Care supporters at a cocktail party launching the organisation’s 165th anniversary at the Hotel Windsor on Spring Street, Melbourne, last night.
“I am delighted to be here to recognise this significant milestone,” said Mr Baillieu.
He pointed out that Jewish Care is one of the oldest philanthropic societies in Victoria and had gone from humble beginnings to providing a large variety of services. “The words Jewish and care are very much synonymous – it’s part of the Jewish psyche and steeped in the Jewish concept of righteousness,” he said.
The premier also paid tribute to the Jewish contribution to the State of Victoria stretching back to its foundations and said, “multiculturalism is at our very fundamental basis and the Jewish community plays a great part in that”.
Jewish Care CEO Bill Appleby thanked the Premier for his address and presented him with a book about the organisation’s history.
Ted Baillieu and Bill Appleby
Jennifer Huppert congratulated Jewish Care on its many achievements over the years on behalf of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV), and stated that Jewish Care and the JCCV shared the aim of ensuring that the Jewish community remained healthy and vibrant.
The newly elected President of Jewish Care, Mike Debinski, addressed the gathering and spoke of how Jewish Care (then the Jewish Philanthropic Society) provided assistance to his own parents in 1948 when they arrived as Holocaust survivors from Poland.
“What has remained constant over 165 years is our community care… It’s an obligation, not a choice,” he said.
According to Debinski, one out of every five people in the community is living close to or over the poverty line, 20% will suffer from a mental health issue over their lifetime, 18% are over 65, 5% have a disability and 46% were born overseas, with many of these being Holocaust survivors.
“Our aspirations are ambitious: we want to build an inclusive community where every member… can survive and thrive,” he said, adding that Jewish Care would need to invest significantly over the next decade to continue to provide its high standards of care.
Jewish Care Vice President Jeffrey Appel opened proceedings with a brief address about the organisation and its mission to support the health and well-being of the Jewish Community in Victoria.
Also in attendance were Federal MP for Melbourne Ports Michael Danby and Victorian parliamentarians David Southwick, Elizabeth Miller, Mary Wooldridge and David Davis.
Jewish Care will commence its 2013 annual appeal in a month’s time.
Well worth the acknowledgement, bringing to mind the shelter given to Mary MacKillop when abandoned by the church hierarchy as a young religious and the support given to Charity Sister Fabian Elliott when refused funding by Arcbishop Mannix for the founations of St Vincents Private hospital, yet I might add, he took full advantage of by having a section set aside for women in “situations created by clergy unable to maintain their vows of celibacy [chastity}.
A facility still utilized into the early 1980’s by consecutive arcbishops.
Where have all the children gone?