Jewish Volunteer Connection’s Annual Good Deeds Day to be Held on Apr. 11

March 22, 2021 Staff Report

At a past Good Deeds Day, Dylan Turpin, 7, of Fells Point, Morgan Gable, a CHAI social worker who lives in Fells Point, and Damien Byer, 10, of Johnstown, Pa., (from left) collect trash near Western Run Stream . (Photo by Steve Ruark)

The spirit of tikkun olam, the Jewish precept of repairing the world, cannot be dimmed even by the long reach of this challenging pandemic.

An example of that determination is Jewish Volunteer Connection’s annual Good Deeds Day, a global time of doing good for others and the planet, which will be held on Sunday, Apr. 11

JVC, an agency of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, is offering safe and meaningful ways to volunteer and participate in this year’s gathering that unites millions of people around the world in the spirit of altruism, fellowship and community service.

Sponsors of this year’s Good Deeds Day are Jmore and Brown Advisory.

JVC is featuring three service to-go projects as part of Good Deeds Day. These projects — involving bagged meal kits, Mother’s Day kits and kids’ tie-die mask kits — are available for pick-up at the Park Heights Jewish Community Center, 5700 Park Heights Ave., on specific days and times, starting Monday, Apr. 5. They should be completed at home and returned by Thursday, Apr. 29.

JVC’s project pick-up and drop-off hours are Mondays from 8:30-11 a.m., Tuesdays from 12:30-3:30 p.m., and Thursdays from 3-6 p.m. Any other pick-up/drop-off arrangements need to be coordinated with JVC staff.

Projects cannot be left at the front desk per the JCC’s COVID-19 protocols. Project supplies should be picked up from the Early Childhood doors, the entrance just before the main entranceway of the Park Heights JCC. (Please pull up along the curb, call 410-843-7476, and stay in your car. A JVC staff member will bring these items out to your car.)

On Apr. 11, onsite volunteer activities for Good Deeds Day include a park cleanup at Herring Run Park, 3800 Belair Rd., at 10 a.m.; a do-it-yourself clean-your-street activity at noon with CHAI, or Comprehensive Housing Assistance Inc.; a cleanup of the Kneseth Israel Cemetery in Annapolis at 9:30 a.m. with Sol Levinson & Bros. and Fram Monument; and making “Bunches of Lunches” for Baltimore’s homeless and needy, at Beth El Congregation, 8101 Park Heights Ave., at noon.

There will also be virtual opportunities for volunteerism offered on Good Deeds Day, as well as other activities such as serving meals at the Helping Up Mission or donating blood with the American Red Cross.

For information about Good Deeds Day, email jvcbaltimore@associated.org or visit jvcbaltimore.org/annualevents/good-deeds-day/.