Norwood (charity)
Norwood Logo
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| charity | |
| Founded | 1785 |
| Headquarters | Stanmore, London |
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Area served
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United Kingdom |
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Key people
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Elaine Kerr, Chief Executive |
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Number of employees
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1250 staff, 600 volunteers |
| Website | http://www.norwood.org.uk |
Norwood, known legally as Norwood-Ravenswood, is a UK charity established in 1785 in the East End of London. Its name comes from its long running home for Jewish children, Norwood Hall, in the south London suburb of West Norwood which opened in 1863 and closed in 1961.
In 1996, it merged with Ravenswood, a Berkshire-based charity for people with learning disabilities, to create one of the largest welfare organisations within the British Jewish community.
Norwood currently provides hundreds of services supporting vulnerable children, families & people with learning disabilities, within the Jewish and wider communities in London and the South East.
These specialist services benefit thousands of people each year and are delivered by 1,200 staff and supported by 500 volunteers.
Norwood’s Patron is HM The Queen and its Patron of Children’s Services is Cherie Blair.
The charity’s celebrity supporters include Simon Cowell, Elton John, David Furnish, Sir Philip Green, Roger Daltrey, Theo Paphitis, Tom Conti and Piers Morgan.
In 1795, brothers Abraham and Benjamin Goldsmid began campaigning for funds for a major Jewish poor relief scheme. Twelve years later they were able to use the funds to establish the Jews’ Hospital in Mile End. Following the death of the Goldsmid brothers, Queen Victoria’s uncle, Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, became the Hospital’s first royal patron in 1815.
In 1831, the Jews’ Orphan Asylum was established in Leman Street. Originally, just seven children were housed at the Asylum, but over the decades that number grew and by 1860 it housed 60 orphans. During the same period, the Jews’ Hospital was becoming overcrowded, with 100 boys and 40 girls enrolled by 1860. In 1866, the children were transferred from the Jews’ Hospital to new premises at Norwood, South London. In 1876, the Jews’ Hospital had merged with the Orphan Asylum, and the children from the latter also moved to Norwood. The numbers of Jewish children at Norwood increased from 159 in 1877 to 260 in 1888, and because of the increased demand, many had to be turned away.
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Wikipedia