Our very own Oliver Hitman is running the 2004 London Marathon, which takes place on the 18th April, hoping to raise an enormous £5,000 for the youth club.

Completing the 2002 London Marathon in 4 hours 50 minutes, Oliver aims to finish this years in a speedy 3 hours 30 minutes. The midfield football player for Catford's A team said: "Running the Marathon once is a life-long achievement. Doing it again, must be madness! However, every single penny raised will go to the youth club that holds many fond childhood memories."

Hudith Reef, youth club director, said: "We are so pleased that Oliver is running for us this year - it shows real community spirit. Our youth club is the hub that brings the young community together through a programme of fun and educatonal activity. The money raised will be a significant contibution, but cannot be achieved without your support."

Starting in Blackheath or Greenwich, Oliver joins thousands of runaholics (including his father Graham), which will pass through Tower Bridge and finish off at the Mall in regal St. James' Park, completing a mere 26 miles.

If you are in awe of Oliver, why not help him reach his goal of raising £5,000 and put your hands in your pockets by sending donations to Judith Reef, Catford and Bromley Maccabi Youth Club, 11 Wood Drive, Chislehurst, Kent, BR7 5EU. Cheques must be made payable to "Catford and Bromley Maccabi".

Or better still, come and give some of that community support by watching Oliver on the day at some of the various marathon spectator hotspots including Woolwich Road, Greenwich Church Street, Evelyn Street, Tower Bridge, Victoria Embankment or the finishing line situated within the scenic St. James' Park.

Leadership has come and gone!

The second of three annual leaderships has taken place over 20-22nd February in Oxfordshire with 8 of our wonderful leadership team. The weekend-long course gives our madrichim the skills they need to be good leaders, not only at club but in everyday life, as well as lots of social time.

Purim is coming!

That's right, it's that time of the year again when they tell us it's okay to dress up! The reading of the Meghillah will be on Saturday 6th at 6.45pm and also the following day at Shul when Maccabi and the Cheder join forces and offer a fun-filled morning for the whole community.

In September, Judith Reef took over as our new Youth Worker, and she has not only continued the work going on within Club, but has developed the role of Club both within the community and with South London Jewry. Within the community, links have been formed with the Contact Committee so that the Youth Club can be involved in community events, and in conjunction with the Contact Committee and High Society, Judith and the leaders will be organising activities at the forthcoming Family Matzah Picnic to be held at Dulwich Park on Sunday 11^th April from 1.00pm-5.00pm. They also took part in the Holocaust Remembrance Day in January, and we were delighted to be chosen as part of the Maccabi Chanukah Torch Run, in which a delegation from Maccabi in Israel visits various communities in Britain. They came to Catford and, in conjunction with the leaders, did a programme of activities for the Cheder children. We were especially honoured as Tiffany Giff had been invited to be part of the Delegation. Several of the leaders were involved with the Annual Chanukah Pantomime Extravaganza, and rumour has it that someone answering to my description was also seen.

Outside of our community, Judith has made contact with Nightingale House and is arranging for Club to be involved there, and is also on the committee of the South London Jewish Network, a new incentive to bring the communities of South London closer together. A very successful fireworks evening was arranges at Croydon Synagogue in November, and SLJN are also involved in the Matzah Picnic, which we hope will be a very special event.

Within Club, we now have 14 youngsters involved in the Maccabi Leadership programme, meeting with other Jewish teenagers from all over Britain on three weekends each year to learn Leadership skills which they put into use at Club for the benefit of the younger children and the community. Several of them have also taken part in the Maccabi Leadership Tour to Israel. Two of the leaders, Joe Berg and Mounir Bousaid, have started football training for 8-15 year olds each Sunday and they hope to soon arrange matches against other teams – The Premiership beware – For any information on football call Joe on 07904228273.

We held our second joint Supper Quiz with Wizo in December, which was a great success with over 140 people attending. Funding, however, is a continual problem.

Oliver Hitman is running in this year’s London Marathon to raise funds for Club, and we hope you will give him as much support as you possibly can.

For any information on Club or sponsoring Oliver Hitman, please contact Judith Reef on 07946647254.

Philip Wolfson

Chairman