FRS Quizzes

High Holiday Appeal

FRS Tzedakah

Every year the FRS Charity Committee raises thousands of pounds for a range of different charities - Jewish, non-Jewish, local, national and international. How do we raise all this money?

FRS Quizzes

Our main event is our renowned quiz weekend held on 2 successive evenings in Spring bringing 350 contestants to pit their wits against our quiz team.

Such is the popularity of our quiz format that we also run many  supper quizzes for outside organisations,  charging a fee based on the number of people who come to the event. We have built up a vast store of quiz questions (all devised by Committee members) and expertise in ‘putting the show on the road’ with a quiz master, scorers, scoreboard and all the usual quiz paraphernalia. In the past year we ran quizzes for around 20 synagogues, schools and charities.

If you wish to book FRS Quizzes for an outside organisation, please contact frs@frsonline.org or download this Word document (30Kb)

High Holy Day Appeal

Each year the Synagogue Council selects a number of charities to be beneficiaries of our High Holy Day Appeal.

The Charities chosen for the Synagogue High Holy Day Appeal for 5768/2007 are

• FRS Tzedakah –enabling the Synagogue to respond to the in excess of 200 appeals received from other charities during the year, both Jewish and non Jewish  and ranging from large national and international to small local or Israeli.
• Reform Movement/UJIA partnership appeal – supporting projects in Israel including the extended day school programme providing sustenance and educational programmes for disadvantaged communities in the Galil and Bursaries enabling young people in the UK to benefit from the Israel Experience Tours.
• The Israel Religious Action Centre – the only religious group in Israel that feeds people of all faiths, with a monthly food package distributed to more than 1500 families in poor communities. The Centre is also at the forefront of the constant battle in Israel to ensure that the rights of all Jews of whatever affiliation are properly recognised.
• Netayim Maayan – a programme to enable children with special needs to participate as fully as possible in the Masorti Summer camp Ramah Noam and Jewish Studies seminars in Israel.
• Karen Morris Memorial Trust – set up in memory of Karen Morris a member of RSY who died of leukaemia in 1998 the charity has now established Karen’s Home from Home at Hammersmith Hospital and is starting a similar project in Birmingham enabling families to stay in close contact with young people during the course of difficult medical treatment and procedures.

HIGH HOLY DAY APPEALS 5768/2007 and 5769/2008

The final outcome of the High Holy Day appeal last year resulted in proceeds of £36,944 from 175 members, an increase of some £10,000 in money terms and  40 in numbers of contributors compared to the previous year. The amounts allocated to each charity were:

• FRS Tzedakah fund £8,802
• UJIA/Movement for Reform Judaism £7,038
• Israel Religious Action Centre £6,750
• Netayim Maayan Masorti Camp £6,654
• Karen Morris Memorial Trust £7,700

In addition £800 was sent to the Centre for Creativity through Education and Cultural Heritage in Jerusalem from specific donations of 2 members

The charities to be supported by the High Holy Day appeal for 5769/2008 will be chosen by the Synagogue Council at the Council meeting to be held in September. Any member who wishes to nominate a charity to be considered should ensure that details are sent to me via the Synagogue office not later than the end of  July

Brian Humphreys
High Holy Day Appeal co-ordinato

In previous years we have supported the Jibon Tari Hospital Ship in Bangladesh. Click here to see a letter about the project. Click here to find out about the Bangladesh Cyclone Reponse and a report on what project is doing.

FRS Tzedakah

The Group receives its funds from the amount that members allocate when donating to the Synagogue High Holy Day Appeal and then disburses those funds to the many appeals that the Synagogue in turn receives during the course of the year.  During the past year the Group distributed approximately £6,000 among approximately 120 charities, in amounts of £50 or £100 at a time. The charities supported included Jewish and non-Jewish, local and national and international and Israeli.

Towards the end of the year a special donation of £500 was made to Magen David Adom  in recognition of  the needs in Israel in the crisis arising from the conflict in Lebanon.
 
The Group is always keen to support charities in which Synagogue members have a particular interest and would be pleased to receive details from members with any suggestions.