Last Sunday, my family participated in the fourth annual CommUNITY Mitzvah Day organized by the Federation of Greater MetroWest. Overseen by Terri Friedman of Livingston, chair of the center for volunteerism, and a team of 11 project chairs, Mitzvah Day offered the local Jewish community more than 20 opportunities to give back and pay it forward.
“In my experience, it can sometimes be difficult to find a hands-on mitzvah opportunity that the whole family can participate in,” said Rachel Jager of Livingston, one of the Mitzvah Day project chairs. “Mitzvah Day was unique because it not only allowed participants to choose a project that resonated with them, but empowered even young children to realize the difference they can make.”
New Jersey Assemblyman John F. McKeon joined 150 people at Etz Chaim in Livingston to pack Passover boxes of matzah, wine, chicken and meat for families struggling with food insecurity. Etz Chaim was just one of the three locations packaging Passover food on Mitzvah Day. Federation partnered with Jewish Relief Agency, Jewish Family Services, Bobrow Kosher Food Pantry and JCC Kosher Meals on Wheels, assembling a total of 1,500 packages.
Other opportunities included a park cleanup with Temple Emanu El in Westfield; cooking meals for families experiencing homelessness, coordinated in conjunction with Family Promise of Essex County; and collecting menstrual supplies for girls and women experiencing period poverty, organized by Congregation Ner Tamid in Bloomfield.
In West Orange, my family collected donations of unused arts and crafts supplies in order to create crafting kits for kids and teens undergoing testing and treatment at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center. Thanks to the generosity of neighbors, we were able to create 36 kits, filled with markers, adult coloring books, crochet kits, jewelry making kits, beads and so much more.
The Federation of Greater MetroWest estimates that there were over 500 individual participants on Mitzvah Day, though I know this doesn’t include the numerous people who donated craft supplies for my family’s hospital collection.
“I think it was important to participate in Mitzvah Day because not everyone has a house and the things they need, and I think it’s not fair to other people that I have everything I need but they can’t afford to have everything that they deserve to have. So I want to help,” said my son Asher Yarmush, age 9, who cooked a meal for a family of four living in a shelter. “And I hope that collecting art supplies for kids in the hospital will help them be happy even though they are sick,” he added.
As a parent, it is my hope that my children have been moved by their participation in Mitzvah Day, and that they also see it as a stepping stone to continued action within our community. While Mitzvah Day brought together the entire community, no matter affiliation or age, all in an effort to do good locally, its real victory is that it ignites a spark within its participants to act today, tomorrow and the next day.
“When I do a mitzvah, it makes me feel happy that I get to help other people,” Asher said.
So how can others become involved in local mitzvah opportunities?
“The first stop should be to check out our website,” said Lindsay Norman, Center for Volunteerism manager at Federation of GMW. According to their website, the Center for Volunteerism “provides a variety of service opportunities to care for those in need, strengthen our Jewish community and make a difference in the lives of others.” The Center offers ongoing opportunities for all ages, including a partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters, meal deliveries for Holocaust survivors, and packing food for local food banks. If you and your family are looking to make a difference in our community, look no further.
You can learn more at https://www.jfedgmw.org/community/get-involved/volunteering.
