David Ereira's Community and Charitable Résumé
"It’s the two halves that make me whole"
For over 3 decades David Ereira has been resolutely committed to improving the community through a diverse range of charitable endeavours. David’s charitable and community résumé bears witness to an extraordinary level of dedication, vision and determination in an area of his life that is as integral to him as running and developing Ereira Mendoza.
David believes in the mentoring, development and involvement of young people in all aspects of community and charitable work, leading to fundraising that also provides a hands-on sustainable service.
His knowledge and experience in community affairs, social and children’s services, special educational needs, services to learning disabled and charitable fundraising is second to none and is complemented by a thirst and ambition to deliver positive, long-lasting results to the community and society at large.
David has always been an advocate for inclusion across all sectors of disability and has championed his motto of “Everyone has the right to reach their full potential and live fulfilling lives with independence and respect”.
Drawing on his business acumen, David’s early vision for Norwood as a not-for-profit business, to be run with the same goals for efficiency, productivity, and expansion, his vision has been developed across the charities sector having undertaken 9 mergers of smaller charities in to Norwood over his tenure. These type of merger is now the established consolidation route for the development for many smaller charities.
Current Roles and Community and Charitable Positions:
National and International
NORWOOD (1992 – present day)
HONORARY LIFE PRESIDENT
As David stepped down as Chairman of the board of Trustee in 2018, he was honoured with the title of Hon Life President and continues to serve in this role. He advises and remains active in their operational services division as well as the Governance of the charity and Safeguarding and remains a member of the Advisory Council.
Norwood, a national charity for socially disadvantaged children, and children and adults with learning difficulties. David’s involvement with the charity spans over 30 years. The charity has a wide-reaching remit, with an annual budget of £35million and a workforce of just over 2000 people. View PDF
JEWISH POLICY AND RESEARCH (JPR) (2023 – present day)
David is Chair of JPR commencing the role in Jan 2025. JPR is a research and policy institute and think-tank. Specialising in researching the state of contemporary Jewish communities in the Great Britain and Europe. (link to site)
JERUSALEM BOTANICAL GARDENS – ISRAEL (2016 – present day)
David serves on the International Advisory Board of the JBG , where he focuses on governance and leads a program called “Plants Grow People.” This initiative emphasizes inclusivity in various forms, promoting interfaith and cultural understanding, , and support for individuals with neurodiverse , social dysfunction and learning disabilities. The program aims to create a safe and welcoming environment for everyone to come together, learn, and grow within the 35-acre Botanical Gardens.
Past Roles and a brief history of communal and charitable service
Young Norwood – Founder
David joined Norwood in 1992 and founded the young lay structure known as Young Norwood (YN), which today boasts one of the largest young professional lay networks with nearly 3,500 active constituents. YN fundraises substantial sums annually through a young Patrons campaign and events tailored to appeal to younger people. YN is also now the bedrock for the mentoring of the next generation of lay leaders/volunteers and fundraisers. David works with young people supporting them with one to one mentoring in leadership development.
Trusteed Board – Norwood
In 1993 David became a member of the Trustee Board of Norwood and spearheaded the merger between Ravenswood Foundation and Norwood in 1998, which led to the creation of Norwood Ravenswood. David was Chairman from 2013-18. During his chairmanship he grew the organisation through 9 mergers to create one of the largest social welfare organisations within the community, boasting an annual budget of £34M and supporting 7,000 people per year through workforce of 1,200 staff and 800 volunteers.
David retired as Chairman of the Board in 2018 having completed his term of office. Prior to that he was Deputy Chairman for 10 years and served on its Operational Services and Mental Health taskforce committees. David also represented Norwood on the Jewish Leadership Council.
London Sephardi Trust (S&P Sephardi (2015-22)
David held the position of Vice President and Trustee from 2015-22 of this historical Community established in London in 1657. He was Chair of the Building Committee, the Governance Committee and undertook a review of their welfare charities. He recently oversaw the change of Governance and restructured the charity to conform to CC compliance.
SEN Task Force Group (Part of SSIG – Schools Strategy Implementation Group) now known as Partnership Association of Jewish Schools (2009 – 2014)
David chaired the task force on behalf of the Schools Strategy Implementation Group (SSIG) and the JLC, which scoped the SEND provision. The task force concluded with a conference for head teachers SEN Governors and SENCOs that was attended by a record 130 professionals.
Partnership Association of Jewish Schools (2009 – 2015)
Special Educational Advisor.
New Leadership Network (2009 – 2015)
Established under the direction of Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks, David was a member of this group; comprising community lay leaders and key professionals, whose scope includes the communities’ growth and direction.
King Solomon High School (2006 – 2009)
Governor of King Solomon High School in Redbridge with responsibility for Special Educational Needs (SEND)
Board of Deputies of British Jewry (2004 – 2008)
Member of the BOD, advising the community on learning disabilities, child welfare, fostering and adoption.
Adam Science Foundation Leadership Programme (2003 – 2007)
David mentored a small group of students for the current Adam Science programme – a group of potential future young lay leaders and volunteers and part of the Leadership Development Programme of the UJIA.
Jewish Adoption Panel (1997 – 2007)
Independent member of the long-term fostering and adoption panel. Through this work he achieved a wealth of knowledge and experience in the fostering and adoption worlds, both for national and inter-country adoption and oversaw over 70 family placements across all faiths underlying the importance of interfaith inclusion by leading by example.
During his tenure, he was also responsible for securing a governmental contract for Norwood to run the national adoption register on behalf of HM Government. This was an incredible achievement for for a faith-based organisation.
Comms / Press
Spanish and Portuguese Jews Congregation
David talks about 30 Years of Communal Service.
The Jewish Chronicle article:
‘The Queen had the most wonderful way with people’: Norwood’s memories of the charity’s patron
View Article
Jewish News article:
Opinion: Working the land of our ancestors brought us back to our roots
View Article