Powered by Repair the World, Jewish Service Alliance (JSA) members mobilized volunteers throughout the National Days of Jewish Service in service-learning programs that were grounded in Jewish tradition and expansive in impact to meet pressing local needs alongside service partners.
Repair the World powered 128 programs across the Jewish service movement, mobilizing 9,500 volunteers in 85 cities across the world. In partnership with 142 organizations, including 53 service partners, the campaign generated over 9,700 acts of service and Jewish learning.
Repair the World was joined by local Jewish community centers and Jewish federations across the country, and organizations including OneTable, AEPi, Repair the Sea, Mem Global, the LUNAR Collective, NECHAMA, Jewish Response to Disaster, and more, showcasing the ever-growing Jewish service movement.
As part of the National Days of Jewish Service, partners accessed learning and financial resources to power meaningful service-learning programs such as Passover food packing for Holocaust survivors, food-distribution projects for neighbors facing food insecurity, hygiene kit-packing, neighborhood beautification projects, trash clean-ups, letter-writing, gardening initiatives and many more. The programs engaged volunteers of all ages and volunteer experiences to express their Judaism joyfully, meet pressing needs and find hope in times of brokenness through Jewish service.
“I had signed up for a Teen Service Day because I wanted to help people in Ukraine, but I didn’t know anyone else in the group. I figured I’d pack some boxes, maybe have a quiet lunch and head home,” shared Emma, an 11th-grader from Massachusetts, who attended the Jookender Community Initiatives’ Passover Quest for Kids and Intergenerational Community Seder. “But by the end of the day, I had not only helped send critical supplies across the world, I had made real connections and rediscovered what it means to live Jewish values in action.”
“On Maui and Oahu we put hygiene kits together and delivered them as well as menstrual supplies to a homeless shelter. In Kauai we put food/fresh produce in bags and they were delivered to seniors. And, during the event in Kauai, a volunteer group of ukulele players showed up to serenade the workers,” shared Jewish Community Services of Hawaii’s Mimi Lind, “Three afternoons of fun, community and tikkun olam [repairing the world]!”
Reflecting on a Passover meal-prep and delivery project with Holocaust survivors, Laura Bloom of the Buffalo Jewish Federation in New York said, “Each visit was a moment of connection; short conversations at the door turned into shared stories, laughter, and even a few tears. Volunteers listened as survivors recounted memories of seders past, many of which were steeped in resilience and hope. These encounters became acts of sacred listening and a form of honoring lives filled with strength and survival.”
Learn more about the JSA and upcoming NDJS at https://werepair.org/jewish-service-alliance.
