Mitzvah Day 2009 to Bring 400+ Volunteers out on Christmas Day
On December 25, 425 local volunteers from the Jewish community will donate their time to provide services at more than 35 social service sites throughout Pittsburgh and surrounding suburbs for the United Jewish Federation’s annual Mitzvah Day. The program’s name comes from the Hebrew word “Mitzvah,” which commonly translates as “good deed.”
Mitzvah Day, the largest annual, organized volunteer effort sponsored by the UJF, affords employees of the participating social service agencies the opportunity to spend Christmas day with family and friends, while assuring that their clients continue to be served. It also provides Jewish community members with the opportunity to make a difference and impact those less fortunate on a special day.
Coordinated every year by Shalom Pittsburgh, the outreach and engagement arm of the UJF’s Young Adult Division, Mitzvah Day 2009 is sponsored by AlphaGraphics in the Cultural District, Dominion Peoples, Fragasso Financial Advisors and the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.
“If every person in the world donates just a small amount of their time and/or money to needy members and organizations in their community, the world would be a better place. Mitzvah Day provides this opportunity for those living in Pittsburgh,” said Alicia Klein, volunteer Co-Chair of Mitzvah Day 2009.
Susan Funkenstein, Klein’s Mitzvah Day Co-Chair, added, “There’s plenty that each of us can do in a few hours, but when over 400 of us volunteer simultaneously across Allegheny County, not to mention thousands across the country, our collective impact is tremendously impressive. With the year we just had, I feel that our volunteerism on Mitzvah Day is even more imperative, and it feels great to help make a difference.”
The broad variety of volunteer projects include: preparing and serving Christmas dinner to residents staying at four Family House locations; delivering holiday gifts from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to individuals with Multiple Sclerosis living in care facilities around the city; packing bags with the National Council of Jewish Women for children in emergency foster care; playing bingo and visiting residents of Shadyside Nursing and Rehabilitation, Southwestern Veterans Center, Sunrise Assisted Living and Weinberg Village, in addition to many more opportunities.
A free breakfast will be served to Mitzvah Day 2009 volunteers at the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill on December 25 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. For more information, contact Becca Lehner, Shalom Pittsburgh Associate, at blehner@UJFpittsburgh.org or by phone at 412.992.5222.
