laughter, song, and legacy and how our events go beyond fundraising

By Debra Brunner

At The Together Plan, connection lies at the heart of everything we do. As a charity, it is vital that we reach people in every possible way—through conversations, events, articles, films, and community gatherings. Each touchpoint matters because it allows us to:

• raise awareness of our mission.

• build trust, confidence, and meaningful relationships.

• find people with stories to share who want to join us in our work.

• support those searching for answers about what happened to their families in the past.

• reconnect individuals with relatives across the globe.

• raise essential funds to power our projects.

Our mission is especially poignant in Belarus, where decades of communist ideology left Jewish people disconnected from their traditions and community, and where non-Jewish people are still seeking a fuller understanding of their country’s suppressed history. Despite over a million Belarusian citizens being murdered by the Nazis between 1941 and 1944, there remains no official Holocaust education. The Soviet regime whitewashed Jewish suffering, insisting that “all Soviet citizens suffered together.” As a result, generations grew up in silence, deprived of knowledge about the Holocaust and their own identity.

At The Together Plan, we work tirelessly to change this reality. Through our Holocaust education programme, our travelling exhibition (both in the UK and now in Belarus), and our direct work with individuals and communities, we are shining a light on a hidden history. This work is deeply empowering—and urgently needed in a world where antisemitism is once again on the rise.

why our events matter

Every event we hold is about so much more than fundraising. It’s about building community, strengthening relationships, and showing gratitude to the individuals and organisations who champion our mission. Without them, none of our work would be possible.

On August 31st, we closed our summer season with a wonderful Jazz and Comedy Evening at The Pump House in Watford, UK. In true Together Plan spirit, this was not simply an evening of entertainment, but a celebration of connection.

a night to remember

Our performers were people with special links to our charity:

• Gili Goldberg, once a youth worker who travelled to Belarus with us, inspired countless young people through music, helping them reconnect to their Jewish roots. Today, Gili is a professional musician. He and two fellow members of his eight-piece band, TUCAN, gave us a vibrant and uplifting performance. (For those who missed the evening, check out TUCAN on Instagram—you won’t be disappointed!)

• Donna Jordan, introduced to us through our former Chair of Trustees, Mike Segall, opened the night with her warm, bluesy vocals that set the perfect tone.

• Josh Leitner, who many know from Evertex Linens and the BNI business network, brought the comedy. After his success last year—when I first encouraged him to turn his weekly “Rabbi jokes” at BNI into a stand-up routine—Josh returned with another unforgettable set. With bananas, an airport trolley, and full Hasidic dress, he had the audience in stitches. Performing two sets as a non-professional is no small feat, and we are so grateful for his generosity, courage, and humour.

the power of community

This event also shone a spotlight on the incredible community I have been part of for ten years: the Chipping Chapter of BNI (Business Network International). Week after week, since joining, I have shared Friday mornings with this inspiring group of professionals. The support, introductions, and encouragement they have offered—both to me personally and to The Together Plan—have been transformative.

For our Jazz and Comedy Evening, so many of these members stepped up to sponsor the event. Their support exemplifies the very heart of what The Together Plan is about: connection, collaboration, and mutual empowerment. So let’s take a moment to acknowledge them:

Ashley Winston – Palmdale Motors

Ashley is an absolute car nut – no really! And he runs an amazing car finding company to help you find the perfect second hard car, holding your hand every step of the way. Ashley has always been a great supporter of The Together Plan – even lending us his classic American Sherrif’s patrol car for one of our events and donating a ride in one of his classic cars with dinner thrown in as an amazing raffle prize! Ashley is a total star! Click here for more.

David Jacobs – SRJ Accounting

David runs SRJ Accountin Services and he is a total tax genius. He  will help anyone who needs to understand and navigate the complex world of tax! He is like a superhero without the cape, and has helped many individuals and businesses through difficult and complex situations to achieve superb and happy outcomes. David is a staunch and generous supporter of The Together Plan in so many ways and even jumped out of a plane for us!! Click here for more.

Emma Phillips – Houseman Properties

Emma and her husband Raphael are Houseman Properties, a family run agency with over 30 years-worth of expertise in the world of estate and lettings in north London. They give a real personal and professional service and their super-power is that Emma is a paralegal which gives them a real edge in what is an ever growing complex market. Emma stepped up literally in May and power walked a marathon with me raising £3500 for The Together Plan’s Brest Jewish cemetery memorial campaign  and she has now joined The Together Plan as a volunteer!! Truly Emma is amazing! Click here for more.

Vijay Chandras – Quality Conveyancing

Vijay is a conveyancing solicitor who offers the most personal service in this field that I think I have ever seen. He truly cares about his clients and will do everything in his capacity to make sure their experience is smooth and easy – even when the situation is anything but that! His service is personal and he goes above and beyond to make sure his clients really have the support they need. Vijay has been an amazing supporter of The Together Plan since he joined BNI Chipping. His generosity is unsurpassed. At our 36 hour cyclathon that we ran as part of our crowdfunding campaign in May 2024, he arrived with box loads of fruit, pastries, avocados and more, to help sustain us through the campaign. Vijay often sponsors our events and feeds the troops at our gatherings. Vijay is an absolute champion on every level. Click here for more information.

Nick Germanou – Brunswick Garage

Nick is a truly great guy who is deeply committed to delivering a truly top service for his clients. Based in north London, his fantastic garage has a state of the art workshop with first class facilities and people come from far and wide because he is so reliable, trustworthy and goes the extra mile. Nick is an all round great guy who is always there to help and I cannot recommend him highly enough. Click here for more information.

Saul Gaunt – Good Egg Medical

Saul is a fantastic ambulance practitioner and is the brains behind Good Egg Medical an amazing organisation which offers first aid training, first aid cover and health checks. They come to you and they are really good at what they do!! Saul is passionate about what he does, really knows his onions and is truly a safe pair of hands. Through BNI he helped to introduce me to a grant body and because of that connection, we successfully won a grant to support the development of our Holocaust Education programme. For that I cannot thank Saul enough!! Click here for more information.

Hak Huseyin – Absolute Print

Hak is an absolutely top bloke and number one printer in the whole of North London. He can literally print anything on anything – from paper to card to signage, to shop fronts, merchandise, workwear, t-shirts, pens, mugs and everything in between. No job is ever too big or too small and he is always on hand and there for his customers and his customers are worldwide!! Hak is a great supporter of The Together Plan and he even got us all skydiving raising over £14,000 for charity. Click here for more information.

Mitchell Harris – Aquasmith 

Mitchell runs an expert bathroom installation company but his USP is that he offers an incredible personal service throughout – even taking his clients on shopping trips to choose the right appliances and accessories to be sure they don’t make costly mistakes in what can be a difficult process. He is a great guy and supports and champions The Together Plan. Click here for more information.

Alexia Da Silva – AP Podiatry

Alexia is a lovely new member to BNI Chipping. Each week she educates the group with her weekly pitches which are incredibly eye opening as she tells us stories of how she sometimes diagnoses underlying and often undetected serious health issues through examinations of her patients feet and nails. I personally have a new found appreciation for podiatry and would not hesitate to recommend Alexia. When 7 members of Chipping walked a fundraising marathon in May, Alexia made herself available to support the walkers and it was brilliant to have her on hand. You can reach Alexia at [email protected]

Alex Lubel – The Osteopathy Centre

Alex is a phenomenal osteopath and has two London clinics in Whetstone and Walthomstow. His strap line is ‘when your back goes out more than you do, you know where to come’. He is always there when we need him and has been on hand at several of our sports fundraising events to offer his services and work his magic. Click here for more information.

Andrew Andreou – Assessment Hive

Andrew is a brilliant member of Chipping. His company, Assessment Hive is a trusted and cost effective service provider of energy performance certificates & SAP (Standard Assessment Procedure) Calculations in London and throughout the UK. His clients are property development companies and people looking to convert or extend their properties, or indeed anyone looking to meet legal energy standards in line with ever changing government regulations and avoid penalties ie landlords, homeowners, commercial property owners, or developers. Andrew has run a half marathon for The Together Plan, helping to raise £1500 and is always supporting us in some way! An all round great guy. Click here for more information.

Andrea Georgiou – ASAP Clearances

Andrea is just brillinat! She runs a professional, respectful, ethicall and efficient house and garden clearance service in North London and she offers her service to commercial clients – estate or lettings agents, block managers, builders and gardeners. Her speciality is probate and hoarder clearances and every one of her clients is treated with kindness, care, and practical support where appropriate. All the items her team removes are given to individuals or charities, recycled or disposed of in the most sustainable way possible leaving very little to be disposed of. Andrea is always donating items to our humanitarian aid project and is unbelievable when we need help with removals of items that we are not able to send as part of our aid consignments. Andrea is a great supporter of The Together Plan and I just cannot recommend her highly enough.  Click here for more information.

Sharmila Hume – The Holistic Hub, London

Sharmila offers natural and holistic solutions and helps people get to the root of their problems so that they can optimise their health and live life to the full. People come from all over to visit Sharmila at her clinic in north London, even from other countries. Known as the biomedic detective she takes her patients on a journey to better health and wellbeing. Sharmila is always supporting The Together Plan, and as she also has her own outlet for Weleda products, she generously gifted all of the seven BNI members who power walked the marathon for The Together Plan in May this year, with Weleda Muscle Soak and Arnica products. We all loved her for that!! Click here for more information.

Zena Nairi – Angel Cafe and Angel Tattooz

Zena is a great member of BNI and has a number of strings to her bow. Along with her husband, she runs the Angel Group, a highly respected construction company in North London, but she also runs the Angel Cafe with branches in Cophall Leisure Centre and New Barnet Leisure Centre where her daughter Jade, also a member of BNI Chipping is the resident baker creating stunning cakes for all occasions. And then there is Angel Tattooz in Cockfosters, where the team creates art you canwear! As they say – ‘you think it, we ink it’. Zena and Jade also supported our epic 36 hour cyclathon and crowdfunding campaign last May and donated a huge amount of stunning pink Angel Cafe cup cakes to help keep us all going! For more information on Angel Cafe – click here and for Angel Tattooz, click here.

Harry Hum – Chic Vintage

Harry is a new member to BNI Chipping and is already settling into the groove. His boutique shop is Chic Vintage in North Finchley, London offering vintage fashion for women, men & the mini misfits! In the short time that Harry has been part of the chapter, he has already shown support for The Together Plan and for that we are truly grateful.

Josh Leitner – Evertex Linens

Josh is a true hero. He runs Evertex Linens, based in London, which specialises in the manufacturing and supply of table linen, accessories and printed textiles. He supports The Together Plan in many ways. He was my wing man on our crowdfunding campaign for the Brest cemetery memorial in May 2024 and in May 2025 he power walked the marathon with me through London. I wonder what he might find himself doing in May 2026!! Last August he did his debut stand up comedy night for The Together Plan and came back for more this year. He really is a mensch! Click here for more information.