Reports and statements of accounts booklet for Penylan House, Cardiff, 31 December 1986

Description

A booklet giving the reports and statements of accounts for the Jewish Home for the Aged, South Wales, Monmouthshire and West of England, which was located at Penylan House, Penylan Road, Cardiff. The cover of the booklet features an illustration of Penylan House's exterior and states that the information inside covers up to and including 31 December 1986.

Throughout the booklet there are advertisements for local businesses, mostly Cardiff-based, such as Vicrem Engineering Ltd., Curran Insurance, A. Krotosky (Kosher Butcher), Premier Properties Ltd., Bernia Sewing Machines and Basil Davies Reference Flooring. As well as these, there are messages from individuals such as a page which states 'With the Compliments of Mr and Mrs Joseph Gaba and Family, Jerusalem, Israel'.

Page 7 lists the Board of Management, with the president being Mr H. Shatz, Honorary Secretary being Mr D. Woolf, Vice presidents being Mrs B. Fox and Mrs A. Glaser and Honorary Treasurer being Mr A. C. Reed. Assessment officers, Trustees, Life Governors and the General Board are amongst other groups which are also named. Many names are crossed out and amended in pen. An 'URGENT APPEAL' is given, emphasising how the Home is not state-controlled, therefore is dependent on voluntary contributions. Further donations are encouraged and towards the back of the booklet, there is a form which is titled 'Covenant to contribute' to the Home. This allowed readers to promise to pay a certain amount annually for the next four years as a donation to the Home.

In addition, the booklet contains reports from the President, the Treasurer, the Matron and the Welfare Committee. The President's report gives a brief history of the Home (it being the Home's fortieth anniversary) and highlights how the needs of the Home have changed, with many residents needing nursing even though many of the staff were not qualified to give physical care, having to call in a District Nurse even to give an injection or change a bandage. As a result, the Home had applied for dual registration that year to become a residential as well as a nursing home. The president also outlines the renovations which were taking place such as the upgrading of the Sick Bay, purchase of new medical beds and kitchens being refurbished. Plans had also been drawn up for new administrative offices to be built at the front of the building. Finally, further donations are encouraged, and thanks are given to members of staff and committees.

The President's, Treasurer's and Matron's report are all quite negative in tone, reflecting the financial struggles of this year. There is emphasis on the 20,000 pounds which needed to be raised to upgrade the building and there is justification of previous spending on the Home. The Welfare Committee Report gives a brief summary of the events run that year such as theatre visits and Yiddish conversation afternoons. It states that among other events, the Annual 'Bit of Fun in the Home' evening raised £2350.

A subscription list is included as well as the Revenue Account, the Balance Sheet and the project Account. The booklet ends with a note of thanks for people who have donated money, time or goods to be sold in aid of the Home. Future donations are encouraged, with the line "Please help. You may be next!'

Pencare (formerly known as 'The Trustees of Penylan House') is a charity, which offers care for elderly people of the Jewish faith and is currently based in Cardiff, although the catchment area for the home covers South Wales and the West of England. Pencare has been working with Linc Cymru to redevelop their care home, Penylan House, to ensure high quality care to Cardiff's elderly Jewish community and extending the care to elderly people not of the Jewish faith.

Mr Henry Silver and other members of the Cardiff Jewish community had originally founded a Home for the Aged in 1946 in Canton. In December 1948, the Home moved to Holme Towers in Penarth to provide more space for its large number of applications. Despite the beautiful surroundings, the Home in Penarth was quite isolated, so the difficult decision was later taken to move the Home to Penylan Road in Cardiff, meaning many residents were now closer to their friends and relatives. Residents moved to Penylan House in February 1959.

Sources:
http://opencharities.org/charities/243968;
http://www.housingcare.org/downloads/facilities/generated-brochures/134508-penylan-house-nursing-home-cardiff-wales.pdf;
Cajex, Magazine of the Association of Jewish Ex-service Men and Women (Cardiff), Vol. IX, No. 1, Ninth Year - March 1959, pp. 60- 65.

Depository: Glamorgan Archives.