Bruce gives boost to C Care

AS the pandemic hit last year, the increase in demand for services at C Care – a frontline Jewish community organisation supporting those who are experiencing food insecurity and social isolation – forced leadership to begin expanding the not-for-profit. To ensure no one was left behind, CEO Rabbi Shlomo Nathanson decided to reach out to community leader, businessman and philanthropist Bruce Rosengarten.

Previously a donor to C Care, Rosengarten – who was formerly president at Jewish Care and is current chairman of Crohns and Colitis Australia – fell in love with the organisation and its mission to help vulnerable members of our community.

The local dad told The AJN that his parents, who were lifelong volunteers themselves, had brought him up with the philosophy that “volunteering in a community is essential to its fabric and success”, and that “a community can only survive if you devote effort and commit to make it work.”

With a strong passion for volunteer work, Rosengarten has been brought on as the new chair of the NFP.

C Care is currently supporting almost 1250 recipients; an increase of nearly 200 individuals in the past three months alone. While leadership expected demand for services to plateau as we came out of strict lockdowns, Rosengarten has reported that this has not been the reality.

While demand remains high, Rosengarten told The AJN, “C Care cannot not meet 100 per cent, 100 per cent of the time …it’s no good saying we got 98 per cent of our meals out to 98 per cent of clients.”

His drive to ensure the entire community is looked after has seen the development of four main programs. They include the Pantry Program, which offers a selection of long-life pantry items, Shabbat Packs of fresh fruit and vegetable boxes, Fresh Meals which provide nutritious, hot meal offerings and The Buddy Initiative – a program that sees volunteers buddied up with an isolated community member for weekly calls.

The team are currently serving up to 650 meals per week, with demand up 65 per cent.

To learn more about C Care, go to ccare.org.au