Reports and statements of accounts booklet for Penylan House, Cardiff, 31 December 1987

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 1987.

Throughout the booklet there are advertisements for local businesses, mostly Cardiff-based, such as Bogod Group, Gwinnut Ltd., A. Krotosky (Kosher Butcher), Premier Properties Ltd., Apollo Leather Products Limited and The Crwys Garden Basket. As well as these, there are messages from individuals such as a page which states 'With the Compliments of Mr and Mrs Mervyn Joseph Jolyon and Sarah'.

There is a list of 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. 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 begins by announcing how the Home has achieved dual registration as a Nursing and a Residential Home. This was as a result of the "disturbing fact" that some patients were having to be turned away as the Home was unable to provide adequate care for their medical needs. The kitchens had been refurbished and reequipped, the sick bay had been refurnished and a new administrative block had been built at the front of the building. Thanks is given to Mr and Mrs George Fox for raising around 40,000 pounds mostly from non-Jewish sources outside of Cardiff. Further thanks is given to the Matron, members of staff, the Welfare committee, and Hon. Treasurer, Arthur Reed, who the president is sad to announce will be leaving to work in Manchester.

The Honorary Treasurer's report states that throughout the duration of his time in that position, the "many achievements gained far outweigh any disappointments". In the past year, the running of the Home had increased from £419,000 to £513,702 (22%), but this was relatively low considering the expenditure on alterations to the building. Reed highlights how the financial situation is stable but that the Home should not get complacent - the stability was due to it being at maximum capacity whereas for every vacant room, the Home would lose around £10,000 a year.

The Matron's report stresses the importance of sharing one's life experiences with residents and how the Home should not be seen as a "last stop". The Welfare committee outlines the year's activities and events, including shopping trips, coffee mornings and 'Afternoon Tea with Fashion'. The 'Irving Berlin Dinner' raised £3000, making the total money raised by the Welfare Committee in 1987 around £4500.

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. On the back cover of the booklet gives thanks for all the donations in 1987 and encourages readers to include residents in any celebrations they may be having the following year. Readers are encouraged to help in the "tremendous task we have in running this Home" by endowing a room, bed, furnishings or a plaque, which would both leave an everlasting memorial and improve the Home. For example, to endow a bed cost £650 and to endow a double room cost £3000.

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.