JEWISHcolorado's Christmas Mitzvah Project Provides Relief To Employees & Volunteers At Local Nonprofits
LITTLETON, Colo. (CBS4) - What does it mean to do a good deed? For the volunteers with JEWISHcolorado, it means serving at hospitals, assisted living facilities, shelters and other nonprofit organizations so regular staff can spend Christmas with friends and family.
The Christmas Mitzvah Project enters its 25th year of serving the Denver-Metro and Boulder areas. One of the places volunteers helped was at Zuma's Rescue Ranch, where horses and other farm animals are rescued and paired with at-risk youth in a therapeutic setting. The volunteers spend time feeding, petting and cleaning after the animals at the ranch.
"We couldn't think of any better way to spend Christmas than to help out the community," said Timothy Hunter.
In response to the pandemic, volunteers also made distribution kits full of food and other essentials, including women's health and hygiene kits, animal welfare kits, respite kits for frontline service workers and kits for those experiencing homelessness.
"I think it's important to help the community out when you can. And if we can step in and offer a little assistance during a time that's been dark for the world, I think that would be so nice to kind of spread that and then other people can pay it forward as well," said Sarah Golombek.
The work on Christmas Mitzvah looks to embody the Jewish value of chesed, or loving kindness, especially for those who are disadvantaged or vulnerable.
"Kindness is often thought of as synonymous with niceness, but chesed is much deeper than this, for chesed is an act of kindness that has neither ulterior motive nor expectation of reward for the doer. It is kindness for kindness' sake," said Susan Chayet, with JEWISHcolorado.
Serving the community also gives parents to pass along some valuable like lessons to the next generation.
"It teaches them hard work, honest work, it teaches them to keep going until everything is done," Hunter said.
"It's definitely better for your character because you build more character helping out with these horses. Even playing around with them and petting them, said Ami Golombek, a young volunteer.