Mitzvah Day gets backing from PM
WITH the blessing of Prime Minister Tony Abbott, well over 1000 members of the Jewish community set out – full of energy and clad in green T-shirts – to make the world a brighter place, participating in the most successful Mitzvah Day Australia to date.
WITH the blessing of Prime Minister Tony Abbott, well over 1000 members of the Jewish community set out – full of energy and clad in green T-shirts – to make the world a brighter place, participating in the most successful Mitzvah Day Australia to date.
The event, now a global phenomenon which originated in the UK, was brought to Melbourne by Judy Feiglin in 2011. This year it went national for the first time, with a number of projects in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane as well.
Speaking to The AJN, Feiglin said the success of the day came down to the enthusiasm of so many people, young and old, working together.
She congratulated all individuals and Jewish organisations involved. “Each project [was] wonderful and special in its own way,” she said. “It [Mitzvah Day] is really resonating and making its mark.”
Sixty-five registered projects ranged from cleaning up public spaces, to washing cars for charity, to blood drives, to outreach with the Sudanese community, and more.
In Sydney, Kids Giving Back spearheaded a community-wide toy drive for Second Chance Toys. Over a three-week period, shuls and Jewish day schools worked to collect as many toys as possible, with the initiative adopted in Perth and Melbourne too.
At Jewish Care in Melbourne, more than 200 volunteers, residents and members of the community gathered to prepare Chanukah gift bags and decorate cards for the festival. AJN staff also did their bit, donating a variety of items to Impact for Women Inc, a charity that supports women and children living in crisis accommodation as a result of domestic violence.
In a letter sent to Feiglin last week, Abbott praised the many volunteers who would be partaking in the event “for the betterment of others”.
“Mitzvah Day recognises that to give of our time is to give of ourselves,” he wrote.
“This year marks only the third Mitzvah Day in Australia and my hope is it will develop into a new Jewish tradition in our country.”
Feiglin said she looks forward to Mitzvah Day expanding its scope in years to come. “I hope that now people see the benefit of it, it will encourage even more people to join in the mitzvahs.”
PHOEBE ROTH
Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
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