New digs for JewishCare
JEWISHCARE has given The AJN an exclusive hard-hat tour of its new, still-under-construction headquarters in Woollahra.
JEWISHCARE has given The AJN an exclusive hard-hat tour of its new, still-under-construction headquarters in Woollahra.
Building of the $7 million, three-level building on Vernon Street began in November 2010 and is due for completion in the middle of the year. An official opening is planned for October.
JewishCare facilities and operations manager Benjamin Mirkin said the new facility would consolidate three existing sites.
“Our [Nelson Street] Woollahra office where family, community services and corporate are based, aged services in Bondi Junction and print 35 in Darlinghurst will all be relocating to this one site,” he said.
“We’ll have about 65 full-time staff working together for the first time in the organisation’s history, and it’ll be great for morale, and make us deliver services more effectively.”
The new headquarters will offer increased benefits for staff and clients. Print 35, which offers employment to people with disabilities, will have a dedicated retail shopfront for the first time. And JewishCare’s program for Holocaust survivors, Club 50, will enjoy a larger and more suitable space to meet, while staff will have more room and improved amenities.
“[There’s] more rooms in which to do our work, [and] the availability to offer new and exciting programs or to re-interpret the way that we offer programs that we currently offer now,” Mirkin said.
JewishCare CEO Claire Vernon said construction was on schedule. “The builders are advising that they intend to complete [at] the end of June, so we’re currently planning to relocate July through to August.”
Envisaging a bright future for the organisation in its new home, she said: “I think our capital appeal and the general community awareness about what we do has really increased.
People are also more mindful around issues like mental health, disability and they know that they’ve got a one-stop shop in the Jewish community where they can come and get assistance.”
Click here for an exclusive video tour of the new site.
GARETH NARUNSKY
JewishCare facilities and operations manager Benjamin Mirkin and CEO Claire Vernon at the construction site.
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