Supporters everywhere raised more than £1.6m in Kisharon’s 36-hour fundraising appeal last week, going above and beyond the original £1.5m target.

Kisharon families and friends, staff and even people we support were among more than 5,500 donors who pulled out all the stops to ensure Kisharon has sufficient funds to keep services running in the year ahead.

In a year when the pandemic put conventional fundraising on hold and Kisharon faced considerable challenges, Chief Executive Richard Franklin said: “I have been astounded by people’s ingenuity, flexibility, creativity and determination. Nowhere more has this been proven to be the case than in our supporters’ ability to fundraise.”

With its high number of donors the appeal reached far more individuals than any annual dinner, the main fundraising event for Kisharon and countless other charities. This widespread reach was a vote of confidence in Kisharon’s work supporting adults and children with learning disabilities, said Acting Director of Fundraising Jessica Levy.

Donations kept on coming throughout Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday but these 36 hours were the climax of months of planning by Kisharon’s fundraising and marketing department.

Generous donors were sought to matchfund donations and more than 180 team leaders, among them families of Kisharon people and groups of staff, pledged to ask friends, family and colleagues to contribute.

Kisharon stepped up its normal advertising in the Jewish press and social media and posters went up on street hoardings and in bus shelters promoting the campaign and its ‘ability’ theme.

Upbeat ‘Tiktok’ style films and dozens of visuals for sharing on social media were produced showing how Kisharon gives people the chance to make the most of their abilities.

During both days, fundraising staff ran the campaign from Kisharon’s Head Office. Fuel came by way of nosh-filled goodie bags put together by students at Kisharon’s Further Education College. Team leaders and match funders tucked into bags too.

Jessica said: “There was a mini celebration every £100,000 raised and we all danced for joy once we reached £1.5m. It was hugely exciting and I felt very proud on behalf of everyone who was involved.”

During the appeal, many families helped by Kisharon spoke candidly of how Kisharon had changed their lives, among them Leonora Samuels who said: “ Because of his disability, my son has had to struggle to hit targets that his typically-developing peers take for granted. Kisharon is one of the places that has helped him to grow into a sociable, confident and optimistic young man.”

Another parent, Emma Avivi, said: “Kisharon is very close to our hearts. Danny went to the Tuffkid Nursery and had the best start in education that any child could have. Now he is at Kisharon Noé School and loving it!”

Jessica added: “Our services and reach talk for themselves and we are incredibly lucky to have such wonderful support from the community which makes this possible. Knowing we have the community’s buy in gives us huge confidence that we are doing the right thing.”