Survivor charity seeks last batch of beneficiaries

A FINAL call is going out to UK-based Holocaust survivors and refugees to seek hardship grants from the Six Point Foundation before it uses up its cash.

The foundation was set up in 2011 with a £4 million endowment from the Otto Schiff Housing Association to improve the quality of life for those in financial difficulty.

It has since helped more than 315 survivors and refugees with more than £1.4 million in grants for goods and services, such as home adaptations. A further £2.3 million has been awarded to organisationssupportingsurvivorsand refugees and the separate £2 million SPF Connect computer project is enabling hundreds to get online.

Susi Bechhofer is among those who have benefited from the support of the SPF, whose name reflects the six million Shoah victims and the six points on the Star of David.

She arrived in the UK on the Kindertransport at the age of three in 1939. SPF money will enable her to have her memoirs published next year and to continue her commitments as a speaker for the National Holocaust Centre.

“The foundation has been very generous, awarding me substantial sums which have been very helpful at this time of life,” she said.

Another beneficiary is Lizzy Dyke, who arrived in Britain alone in 1947, having survived the Theresienstadt, Auschwitz and Mauthausen camps. Now 89 and living in Kingston she recently received a grant to cover the cost of the funeral for her husband, George. She was “over the moon” when told of the help.

The SPF is looking to help others in need during the six months before it is wound up. Susan Cohen, its executive director, said it had been a “huge privilege” to be involved in something “incredible”.

Grants are awarded via the Association of Jewish Refugees, the Holocaust SurvivorsCentre,AgudasIsraelHousing Association, Bikur Cholim and North London Bikur Cholim.

I was over the moon when told they could help me’