BARNET’S dignitaries rolled up their sleeves and picked up their paintbrushes to lend a helping hand for Mitzvah Day yesterday.

The Mayor of Barnet and local councillors were amongst dozens of people supporting Norwood as part of the good deeds day which encourages people to donate time rather than money to charity and community projects.

A group of councillors including Alison Moore and Julie Johnson painted the entrance hall and dining room at a Norwood home for adults with learning disabilities in Station Road, Hendon, and the Mayor visited a special tea party for young people with disabilities at the Kennedy Leigh Family Centre in Hendon.

The Mayor said: “I’d never been to a Mitzvah Day event before but it was really lovely. It was so nice to see the children’s little faces smiling – they had candy floss making, showed me round the centre and in the sensory room where they relax, and it was extremely pleasurable to be there.”

Young members of Edgware Reform and Raleigh Close synagogues were also on hand to help paint a mural and spring clean the nursery, whilst across the borough dozens more people gave their time to Norwood which supports people with learning disabilities.

Families who use the charity’s Nursery and Family Centre in Hendon collected winter clothes for disadvantaged people including Ukranian orphans, and volunteers from Hendon Synagogue made Chanukah cards and candle holders for Norwood’s services users.

For more information about Norwood visit: www.norwood.org.uk