Jewish Group Plans Festival of Good Deeds

For thousands of years, Jewish communities around the world have emphasized charity as an important element of religious life. Good deeds are called mitzvahs, and doing them is considered a blessing.

In the spirit of teaching examples of good deeds to children, the Valley Alliance Jewish Federation, a social-service group, will sponsor its second annual “Mitzva-thon,” a festival celebrating good deeds, on Sunday. The festival, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Bernard Milken Jewish Community Campus, 22622 Vanowen St. in West Hills, will run concurrently with the United Jewish Fund’s annual “Super Sunday” fund-raising campaign, which benefits social-service groups around the Southland.

“We’ve considered ‘Super Sunday’ as our main fund-raiser and community-building event,” said Barbara Creme, community relations director for the Valley Alliance. “But we also wanted to create something that children could participate in.”

During the festival, children will make food baskets, plant trees and write get-well cards to ailing people. Federation officials estimate that areawide, more than 15,000 tzedakah, or charity boxes, will be made.

“The activities we’ve planned during the festival will show kids that even a small good deed is important,” Creme said.

Although the activities have been designed for children 8 to 12, families are invited to participate.

“The synagogues in the Valley have been very helpful to our group in setting up the Mitzva-thon,” said Creme. She estimates that 750 to 1,000 local volunteers and their families will participate.

The West Hills festival is one of four Mitzva-thons in the Los Angeles area on Sunday. For information or directions to festival sites, call the Valley Alliance Jewish Federation at (800) 870-4434.