MITZVAH DAY YEAR-ROUND AWARD

1. Neder Spain

Neder, from Barcelona, Spain, doesn’t just do activities on Mitzvah Day. Its purpose is to operate 365 days a year and generate great added value for all the Jewish institutions in Barcelona by encouraging community involvement in various social action projects.

2. Broughton Jewish Cassel Fox Primary School, Salford

A group of children in Year 6 arranged Chanukah biscuit-making with residents from the Heathlands care home. The children thereafter took it upon themselves to continue the relationship made on the day by writing letters to the residents and keeping in touch after Mitzvah Day. They have now offered to come back for a few more sessions throughout the year.

3. Project ImpACT

Project ImpACT empowers young people to use their free time in a meaningful way in their local communities. Teens take part in impactful weekly volunteering programmes that inspire and shape the next generation of young leaders. On Mitzvah Day, teens from across 30 schools and communities volunteered for several charities including Crisis, CenterPoint, Goods for Good, JW3, and Norwood – but this is just one of the many of its year-round activities. ImpACT regularly runs a Youth Community Kitchen and other volunteering programmes with over 25 charities engaging teens in meaningful initiatives and enabling them to make an impact in the community.

4. York Liberal Jewish Community

At York Liberal Jewish Community’s first successful Mitzvah Day, back in 2013, they collected over a tonne of food; an event repeated on other Mitzvah days since. But it isn’t only on Mitzvah Day – the community constantly plays its role in various social action projects and is always putting up its hand to give a helping hand to those in need.

5. JW3

Mitzvah Day at JW3 this year was one of the most diverse in recent years. The community centre partnered with seven different organisations to collect donations, cook warm food, and support our ongoing food bank. Additionally, JW3 continued to build community by calling its foodbank recipients, welcoming them for a community lunch, and involving its young adults and families groups to the centre. JW3 continues to perform mitzvahs and acts of social action every single day through various projects and campaigns.