Much loved and long standing member and volunteer of Jewish Care’s Redbridge Jewish Community Centre, Rita Shaw, celebrated her 95th birthday at Woodford Forest United Synagogue with other Centre members and her granddaughter, Hayley.
Rita has dedicated over 20 years to volunteering at the Centre, where Hayley also once worked as a youth programme coordinator and previously volunteered at the day centre. And, Rita leads a discussion group at the day centre now for which she won the “Terry Wogan Award for Advanced Discussion Hosting.”
Hayley’s shares a special bond with her grandmother. At the age of three and a half, Hayley was abandoned by her divorced mother and placed into care. She recalls, “My mum left me outside a clinic when I was nearly three. She had no support, and I was put into care for just under a year.”
Having earlier hoped that Hayley would be reunited with her mother or father, her paternal grandparents, Sydney and Rita Shaw, had sold their house and planned to emigrate to America. However, when they discovered that their granddaughter was going to be adopted by a non-Jewish family, they stayed in the UK to take care of her, so Hayley could grow up with her family within the Jewish community.
Rita shares, “At the time she was being fostered by a very kind priest and it made us realise that she would not be connected to her family or her Jewish identity”
Hayley described her grandparents as “absolutely amazing people.”
Hayley honoured her grandparents through dedicating her university degree in psychology to them, saying, “I want to do it for them.”
And now works for the Royal College of Psychiatrists, helping to improve patient care and services.
Sadly, Rita lost her husband Sydney in 2017, and Hayley is her only remaining family, as she also lost her two children and two other grandchildren. Hayley has been determined to make this 95th birthday special to fill that void with the help of the staff, volunteers and members at Redbridge Jewish Community Centre.
Hayley shares, “We used to volunteer together when I came back from university. That’s why celebrating my Nan’s birthday with everyone there is so special. I would like to thank Jewish Care for making it such a meaningful occasion.”
The celebration which included a beautiful cake for Rita, with an entertainer and dancing as part of the regular entertainment.
Talking about the day, Rita shared, “It was wonderful to celebrate my birthday here with my peers. The Centre means everything to me. It’s the people who make it special, and it was lovely to share this moment with everyone there.”
Rita also commented about her longevity: “When you reach a certain age, most of us have done our working time, but here, all of that is behind you and all we do is enjoy ourselves.”
Rita’s life and legacy are woven into the fabric of Jewish Care’s Redbridge Jewish Community Centre and the wider community. As Hayley says, celebrating her Nan every day feels only fitting. But on her 95th birthday, Jewish Care had the privilege of celebrating Rita and resharing her extraordinary story.