November 19, 2017 we celebrate the 4th edition of Tzedakah Day, one of Cukunft Jewish Association flagship projects! For the 3rd time as a part of International Mitzvah Day 365, which in Poland is also organized by the Jewish Community of Lodz, JCC Cracow and JCC Warszawa.
Cukunft Jewish Association participated in Mitzvah Day for the third time this year. It is slowly becoming our tradition to incorporate our flagship project – The Tzedakah Day (Jewish Charity Day) – into Polish celebrations of the International Mitzvah Day (Jewish Good Deeds) along with other Jewish organizations in Poland.
Since 2014, when Cukunft organized the 1st Tzedakah Day collecting 100 kg of clothes, dry food and detergents for the Jews in need from the Lower Silesia through 2015, when Cukunft gathered 80 kg winter clothes, food, derergents, sleeping bags, money and toys for Ukrainian and Syrian refugees from refugee camps in Serbia to 2016, when the project turned into a year round Cukunft Mitzvah Day 365 Project aiming to support Jewish children from the large families and single parents in need by providing them with books, notes, educational materials, back-packs, sports shoes and costumes, toys, winter clothes, detergents, dry food, strollers, ect. In this project Cukunft established a strong cooperation with the leaders of the Jewish community in Lodz and the Matanel Jewish Kindergarten in Lodz which we supported in 2016 once and 2017 twice.
During 2017 edition of the Cukunft’s project in Wroclaw, we carried out several activities over a couple of days because for members of Cukunft Jewish Association every day is Mitzvah Day!
At Cukunft we promote and educate through the Jewish values – Tzedakah, Kehila, Shalom, and Tikkun Olam – as universal life rules for both Jews and non-Jews. Thus, we found it obvious that our International Mitzvah Day celebrations this year had to include several activities representing Jewish values we find indispensable in modern both Jewish and non-Jewish society.
First and foremost, we collected schools appliances, books and stationery for Jewish kindergarden in Wroclaw, Zary, Lodz, Bielsko-Biala and Lublin to teach secular members of Wroclaw Jewish community the importance of Jewish principle ”Kol Israel Arevim Ze Le Ze”.
Secondly, we donated blood at local blood station thanks to the inspiration of Rebbetzin Maria Szychowska, Director of the Matanel Jewish Kindergarten from the Jewish community in Lodz.
Finally, we organized a open workshop about Chanukah for non-Jewish children and their parents to teach them more about Jewish culture.
We firmly believe that only the combination of Jewish contribution to local Jewish and non- Jewish communities warrants fulfilling the principle of ”Tikkun Olam’,’ which we consider the greatest mitzvah of all!
PHOTOS:
MUNICIPAL PUBLIC LIBRARY – WROCŁAW, POLAND – 2017
MATANEL JEWISH KINDERGARTEN – LODZ, POLAND – 2017
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2016 – 3rd TZEDAKAH DAY IN WROCLAW – INTERNATIONAL MITZVAH DAY 365
In November 2014, Cukunftists organized the First Tzedakah Day in Wroclaw, during which they collected 80 kg of winter clothes, shoes, detergents, food and money for many needy members of Wroclaw, Lower Silesian small Jewish communities and Łódź, aged 4 to 96. They repeated the event in November 2015 as a part of the International Mitzvah Day 365 when Cukunft collected money, sleeping bags, winter clothes, dry food and detergents for refugees in transit camps in Greece and Slovenia in cooperation with coalition of other local NGOs – Wroclaw Welcomes Refugees led by Marcin Czerwinski, Katarzyna Wiącek and Agata Ferenc.
This year Cukunft organized 3rd Thezakah Day in Wroclaw and Lublin also as a part of the International Mitzvah Day 365 and collected goods for people in need from the Jewish community of Wroclaw, Lower Silesia Region, Łódź and Lublin as well as for selected Polish families. For a week all gifts (dry food, clothes, toys, books, stationery, detergents and money) were gathered in Firlej Club, Tikkun Olam Jewish School and Szalom Alejchem Jewish School.
Thanks to generous support of members of the Jewish community of Wroclaw, students, parents and teachers of Jewish schools and Junction – an initiative of JDC, Charles&Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and Hanadiv Europe members of Cukunft Jewish Association could help numerous families. We could also organize a ‘thank-you’ event for all donors – a special Tzedakah Concert of Jascha Lieberman Trio Band and Golden Escort.
For last 3 years the Tzedakah Day and International Mitzvah Day in Wroclaw projects were coordinated by: Jan Kirschenbaum, Joanna Grudzińska, Ewa Chava Pacult, Robert Chmielewski, Jarosław Szydłowski and Aleksandra Wilczura.
If you would like to join our group of Tzedakah Day’s volunteers and coordinators please contact us. We are waiting for you: cukunft.wroclaw@gmail.com
This year we would especialy thanks to: Jan Kirschenbaum and Junction grant, Mirosława and Romual Krieger, Robert Chmielewski, Chava Pacult, Jarosław Szydłowski, Aleksandra Wilczura and all our volunteers and donors.
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