JR’s ‘litterati’ embrace tikkun olam for this year’s Mitzvah Day
Last Sunday saw the return of Mitzvah Day, the UK’s largest faith-led day of social action. Every year in November, thousands of Jews, people of other faiths and no faith come together to give their time – not money – to make a difference to the community around them. Mitzvah Day promotes social action projects throughout the UK to encourage families, friends and neighbours to address real needs in their local communities.
With that in mind, the JR team is on a mission to make litter picking a habit. We’ve been aiming to make a difference on their own patches across London and the UK, with the aid of partners, children and even pets. Leading the way was our Arts Editor Judi Herman, who’s been at it for the past year – ever since her husband Steve bought them his ’n’ hers pickers for their wedding anniversary. You can hear more of Judi’s litter picking walks on JR OutLoud. Along with their puppy Biba, Judi and Steve scoured the Northwood area, while on the other side of the river in Balham our Executive Director Aviva Dautch was joined by Caroline Butten, who handles our institutional subscriptions.
Meanwhile in Boreham Wood, our finance and operations team, Ruth Bankover and Lorraine Sheridan, were joined by their children for a sweep of the streets; JR’s Editor Rebecca Taylor and her daughter Miri cleaned up a corner of Camden; and our Associate Editor Danielle Goldstein scoured the verges with her husband Kane and pooch Paul Simon in the flat Fenland countryside.
Of course, embracing the Jewish precept of tikkun olam (repairing the world) is not just for Mitzvah Day, but all year round. We hope you’ve been inspired to head out on a little litter-picking excursion in your own local areas. We’d love to see you in action, so please send your pictures in via Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, or email them to info@jewishrenaissance.org.uk, and we’ll share them on our social channels.
For more info on Mitzvah Day, visit mitzvahday.org.uk.