Our Wonderful Volunteers!

Mayor of Great Manchester, Andy Burnham, was guest speaker at a Thank You event held this week for our volunteers from across the North.

Over 50 people attended, including volunteers from Leeds, Liverpool, Bradford, Ilkley, Gateshead and of course Manchester. There were also representatives from partner agencies, such as JVN, The League of Jewish Women, Manchester Jewish Rep Council, Manchester Jewish Museum, and the Fed.

AJR Northern Volunteers and Community Coordinator Fran Horwich said: “We at AJR value the dedication of our volunteers highly, and appreciate the opportunity to applaud their work. We were fortunate to have Andy Burnham as our guest speaker. He recognised the impact that volunteers make to the lives of people who are more isolated within our society. He spoke eloquently about the community cohesion within Greater Manchester, particularly in the wake of the Arena bombing, which occurred almost exactly twelve months ago.”

Volunteers were moved by a short film of member Suzanne Ripton, describing what her volunteers mean to her, and how they have enhanced her life.

Max Dunbar, CEO of the Manchester Museum, explained the plan for the expansion of the museum, which is being generously supported by AJR. Thanks were extended to volunteers in the closing words of Michael Newman, Chief Executive of AJR.

Guests were treated to beautiful music from harpist Rachel Gladwin, and of course, the food was of the usual high AJR standard!