20 | DECEMBER 5 • 2019
I
t’
s been a Christmas Day
tradition for more than
two decades. Mitzvah Day,
the largest single day of vol-
unteering in the Metropolitan
Detroit Jewish community,
is an initiative of the Jewish
Community Relations Council/
AJC (JCRC/AJC) in partnership
with the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit.
“This will be our twenty-
third Mitzvah Day and it gets
bigger and better every year,
”
said Illana Stern, JCRC/AJC
board member and co-chair of
Mitzvah Day. “We have nearly
40 returning and new sites this
year that offer volunteers the
opportunity to do anything
from delivering meals and toys
to spending time with senior
citizens, children and veterans
and helping at animal shelters.
”
Mitzvah Day was founded
by JCRC/AJC’
s predeces-
sor, the Jewish Community
Relations Council, in 1996 in
order to fill staff shortages or
allow organizations to reduce
staffing on Christmas Day.
Through the years, the event’
s
reputation grew, bringing
more locations and volunteers
into the fold, including par-
ticipation from friends in the
Muslim, Hindu, Christian and
Sikh communities.
Four years ago, Patty and
Jerry Stelmaszak, heard about
Mitzvah Day while attending
services at Temple Emanu-El
in Oak Park. The Ferndale
residents, who spend much of
the year in Nashville, thought
it would be a wonderful way to
spend Christmas
.
“When we first began vol-
unteering, we spent the day
handing out gifts and treats
at a convalescent home. We
were quickly hooked and, since
then, have signed up for two
locations to volunteer at each
year,” Patty said.
In 2018, the couple began
the day preparing and serving
meals alongside Chef Matt
Prentice at Cass Community
Social Services before heading
out on Salvation Army’
s Bed
and Bread Truck, where they
served meals to individuals liv-
ing on the streets in Detroit.
“Every year we volunteer at
two sites because each loca-
tion gives us a different feeling
around the city,
” Patty said.
A Detroit Tradition
Spend Christmas Day doing good
in the community.
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