Participants in the JCC Senior Adult Department, young adults with special needs from its Guttenberg Center for Special Services, and children in the JCC Early Childhood Department, all joined forces on Monday, November 2, to collaborate on a special intergenerational project to support the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey’s annual Mitzvah Day.

The groups spent hours assembling more than 500 individual snack packs containing juice, milk, cereal, mac & cheese, nutri-grain bars, applesauce and other food items that were delivered to the Center for Food Action in Englewood for underprivileged children left without adequate nutrition on weekends and holiday breaks. The Snack Pack Program was launched a few years ago to fill this gap by providing healthy, kid-friendly and easy-to-prepare snack foods to children at risk of hunger. The sealed snack packs will be discreetly distributed to students in need by teachers.

“Our hope is to continually provide people in our community with experiences that inspire them to help others and to achieve something positive in their own community,” says JCC Senior Adult Director Judi Nahary. “The Snack Pack Program is a perfect mitzvah choice, as it allows children, seniors and young adults with special needs to come together to make a difference. This is very special.”

The goal of Mitzvah Day is to participate in a day of service, where volunteers of all ages throughout northern New Jersey look to fulfill one of Judaism’s core values: tikkun olam, which translates to repairing the world. More than 1,000 people in Bergen County take part in this community-wide volunteer event each year.