An award for the ultimate giver of gifts

Fifty-two years of quietly giving her time, energy, and heart to the Selwyn Segal Gift Shop have earned Joan Block the Mann Made Community Service Award at this year’s Investec Jewish Achiever Awards. 

Through her selfless work at the volunteer-run shop, Block has helped turn everyday gift-giving into a means of supporting the Selwyn Segal Centre and the people who depend on it. 

“The role of the shop is to offer an important service to the community,” says Block. “Every gift sent out bring smiles to the faces of the recipients, while also allowing every customer to do a mitzvah by supporting us.” 

Fifty-two years ago, Block was invited to work in the basement of Jessica Emdin’s Observatory, Johannesburg home, packing gifts to be sold for the residents of Selwyn Segal. Since then, the shop has grown from its humble beginnings into the large gift emporium it is today in Glenhazel, supplying heartfelt gifts, the joy of toys and play, and the knowledge that all proceeds go to a worthy cause. 

“I started working two mornings a week and not for a moment did I realise that Hashem’s plan for me was to work all of every day and often well into the night,” Block says. 

The Selwyn Segal Gift Centre offers gifts for every occasion under the sun and brings in much-needed funds for the home. It also acts as an ambassador for Selwyn Segal within the wider community, under the umbrella of the Chevrah Kadisha. “For us, the shop is ultimately about people; bringing people together, creating connections, and making a difference in the lives of our wonderful residents,” she says. 

Every time a purchase is made at the gift shop, money goes towards making a difference in the lives of the Selwyn Segal residents; every cent of the profit goes to their care. 

Block now runs the show alongside her co-convenor, Irene Schraibman. “My role has changed from a volunteer to a volunteer shouldering the huge responsibility of running a shop of this magnitude. It has been 52 years of learning, growing, laughing, worrying, and creating,” she says. 

Block, who has never earned a cent in five decades working at the gift shop, explains that she continues to do so because she is continually motivated by the residents of Selwyn Segal, and the way they “accept their lives without complaint and are grateful for the smallest kindness”. 

“They are Hashem’s special chosen neshamas [souls], who often just want to chat and share their warmth.” 

Block acknowledges that nothing happens without her co-convenor and the tens of volunteers who devote their time, truly embodying, in her opinion, the saying “Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies”. 

“I am beyond privileged to be surrounded by the most amazing rubies,” she says. “The first being my co-convenor, Irene Schraibman, who has stood beside me for the past 37 of my 52 years and has given her soul to the gift shop. Without her incredible hard work, love, care, and professionalism, I am quite sure the shop would not be what it is today. We are blessed to have wonderful volunteers who give so much of their time, energy, creativity, dedication, and passion, and we are truly grateful to every one of them. Volunteers are gifts that keep on giving and live by the premise that a candle loses nothing of its light when lighting another candle.” 

What people don’t see when they buy or receive something from the Selwyn Segal Gift Shop is the months of planning, buying, designing, packing, and organising that go into making sure that every gift is unique. 

“We spend many hours sourcing new and different items so that we can offer an exciting range of babyware, homeware, pamper items, toys, Judaica, and delicious hampers for our customers to choose from. We pride ourselves on bespoke gifts, personalising them for each event and occasion. We also change the theme and packaging of our gifts for every chag so that they will be unique and professional in every way. The planning and buying takes us at least six months,” Block says. 

For example, this Rosh Hashanah season, the team sent out more than 4 000 gifts, using 560kg of dried fruit – about the same weight as a rhino – along with 6km of ribbon, 3km of cellophane, 3 500 boxes, and nearly 3km of tissue paper. 

For Block, the Mann Made Community Service Award is overwhelming. 

“I have struggled with the idea of actually accepting this kind of recognition because I have never felt what I do is about me. It’s about the residents, the volunteers, the staff, our supporters, and the wonderful community that has allowed the gift shop to become what it is,” she says. 

She is accepting the award in the name of her beloved late husband, Dave, who was a director of the gift shop and supported Block over the years. “He was the backbone of the shop in so many ways. He listened to me worry about every challenge, supported the late nights, lived through the endless ideas and, of course, even survived sleeping in glitter.” 

Block says that while 52 years of tying bows can become repetitive, she feels fortunate to have spent that time doing something she loves and, more importantly, something that has meaning. 

“I have learned resilience and patience, that happiness can be found in the simplest things, that kindness never needs to be complicated, and that making someone feel loved and valued is one of the greatest gifts we can give.”