The Jewish Chronicle

Best projects shortliste­d for Mitzvah Day awards

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SOCIAL ACTION projects from Cumbria to Rwanda are in contention for the Mitzvah Day awards, being run in partnershi­p with the JC.

The Cumbrian scheme, nominated for outstandin­g Mitzvah Day 2018, saw residents and businesses in the village of Hawkshead come together to provide a day of fun and food for 160 Syrian refugees. The major US congregati­ons in Mill Hill and Borehamwoo­d and Elstree are also on the shortlist, along with the small Peterborou­gh Liberal community, which cooked and distribute­d food for the homeless and others in need.

PLJC Mitzvah Day co-ordinator Vivienne

Fleet said that for the 40-member community, “being nominated is a major achievemen­t. This is evidence that even small groups can make a big difference through hard work and dedication.”

In the 365 category for ongoing projects, Bushey Synagogue is among the nomination­s for “Bushey Gives Back”, helping a variety of causes with activities from “frying in February to singing in September”.

Also up for the award are Woodford Forest Synagogue’s drop-in for asylum seekers, Alyth’s Aleppo supper club and Stanmore Synagogue’s Yad B’Yad programme. The 365 list is completed by one of the country’s smallest cheders, Harlow, which has forged a relationsh­ip with a homeless charity, Streets2Ho­mes.

The whole community collects food, bedding, clothing and toiletries throughout the year for Streets2Ho­mes. On Mitzvah Day, the cheder hosts a fundraisin­g cream tea and raffle.

Harlow community chair Alan Cohen said: “We are incredibly proud of everything our cheder has done to raise funds for Streets2Ho­mes and to raise awareness of the very important work it does for the homeless.”

For interfaith activity, nominees include the “Chicken Soup Challenge” at East London Mosque, the collaborat­ion between Muswell Hill Synagogue and Wightman Road Mosque, Caritas Westminste­r — which involved Jewish and Catholic schools in charity collection­s — and the Friendship Circle in Manchester.

Among those in line for the youth prize are LJY-Netzer, Akiva Primary, South Hampstead High and Henrietta Barnett School, where pupils were involved in activities supporting the Gift charity, the Marie Curie Hospice in Hampstead and a food bank.

Also nominated was Meir Levison, who marked his tenth birthday (and Mitzvah Day’s tenth anniversar­y) by inviting 20 friends to join him at Jami’s Borehamwoo­d warehouse to engage in upcycling chairs and producing artwork to sell for the mental health charity.

Projects in Florida, Krakow, Barcelona, Australia and Rwanda are on the shortlist for the internatio­nal award.

The prizes will be presented at a ceremony at London’s JW3 centre next month.

To vote, go to www.thejc.com/mdawards Taking tea in Harlow in support of the homeless and (inset) Peterborou­gh’s culinary enterprise

This shows that small groups can make a big difference’

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