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.

LAUREN GARFIELD-HERRIN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

PHOTOS BY JEFF AISEN

Jews in the D

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