Mitzvah Day International is an annual day of faith-based social action that takes place in November each year, primarily in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. On Mitzvah Day each year, community groups and individuals undertake a range of

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

projects for those in need in their local community. Organizations register with Mitzvah Day, which in turn helps match volunteers with local projects. The objective is to encourage people to give their time, rather than their money, to worthwhile local causes, whilst also creating deeper linkages within communities and supporting charities. In 2013, close to 30,000 people participated in Mitzvah Day around the world. Though based within the UK's Jewish Community, Mitzvah Day traditionally marks the first day of UK National Inter Faith Week, and as a result has expanded to include participants from other faith communities as well. ' Mitzvah' is the Hebrew biblical term for 'deed' or ' commandment', which has come to mean 'good deed' or 'charitable act' in contemporary

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. The 2020 date was Sunday November 15.

History

Mitzvah Day International was founded by Laura Marks in 2005, who, upon returning to her native UK from a period spent in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, decided to bring the 'Mitzvah Day' concept she became familiar with through the Temple Israel of Hollywood synagogue back to the UK. Though the Mitzvah Day she was familiar with (and most Mitzvah Days in the US) was based around a single community or

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

, her concept for Mitzvah Day in the UK was to unite Jewish community and other groups around a single coordinated day of social action across the country. Mitzvah Day was originally associated with the

Jewish Community Centre for London JW3, also known as Jewish Community Centre London, is an arts, culture and entertainment venue, an educational facility and a social and community hub in north London. It is located at 341–351 Finchley Road, London, and opened on 29 Septembe ...

, and became registered as an independent charity in the United Kingdom in 2008.

Endorsements

Mitzvah Day has been publicly endorsed by many public figures in the United Kingdom, including former

UK Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...

David Cameron,

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...

and

Leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

of the Liberal Democrats

Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British media executive and former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who has been president for global affairs at Meta Platforms since 2022, having previously been vicep ...

of the Labour Party

Ed Miliband Edward Samuel "Ed" Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliban ...

Former

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom The following list of chief rabbis of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth gives information regarding the Chief Rabbi of the United Synagogue, which is represented through the mainstream majority Orthodox community of the United K ...

Jonathan Sacks Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks ( he, יונתן הנרי זקס, translit=Yona'tan Henry Zaks; 8 March 19487 November 2020) was an English Orthodox rabbi, philosopher, theologian, and author. Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United ...

, and The Archbishop of Canterbury. It won a Prime Minister's Big Society Award in 2011

International expansion

Headquartered in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, UK, the event has since spread to include participation from many international partners, primarily in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, North America,

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, Australia,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, and

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

. In 2012, the name of the organization officially changed from 'Mitzvah Day' to 'Mitzvah Day International' to reflect the growing participation of community groups outside the UK.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Mitzvah Day International
- official website
Mitzvah Day Australia
- official website
UK National Inter Faith Week
Charity events in the United Kingdom Jewish organisations based in the United Kingdom Charities based in London Volunteering in the United Kingdom November observances Jewish observances

History

Endorsements

International expansion

See also

References

External links