Mitzvah Day celebrates 20 Years of Building Bridges at 2025 launch event

Mitzvah Day celebrates 20 Years of Building Bridges at 2025 launch event
20 August 2025 admin_mitzvah

Mitzvah Day – the UK’s largest faith-based day of social action – marked its 20th anniversary with a special celebration and 2025 launch event, bringing together senior faith and community leaders with Mitzvah Day staff, trustees, project coordinators and charity partners from across the past two decades.

The highlight of the evening – which took place at JW3 – was the launch of this year’s Mitzvah Day theme: 20 Years of Building Bridges.

The theme focusses on how – against a background of global unrest, divisions in society and rising antisemitism – Mitzvah Day is about proud and positive Jewish-led social action, making a genuine difference to the society in which we live together.

Mitzvah Day’s Founder and Chair Laura Marks CBE told guests: “As we celebrate 20 years of Mitzvah Day, our mission of reaching out and helping others, in a world which feels fragile, is more vital than ever.

“This year, we ask all those taking part to connect with local charities and other faith communities who may still be strangers. We can break down barriers between people and communities through meaningful, side-by-side social action projects that offer real support where it matters most.”

There are three ways that those taking part can put the theme into action at this year’s Mitzvah Day, which will take place on and around Sunday 23 November 2025.

Building Bridges between faith communities, so that Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus and those of all religions and backgrounds can come together and build essential genuine and long-lasting relationships.

Building Bridges for the future, passing down the values of tikkun olam (repairing the world), gemilut chasadim (acts of kindness) and tzedek (justice) from one generation to the next.

Building Bridges with the charities who desperately need us, supporting the most vulnerable people in society and responding to the urgent challenges of today.

At the anniversary event, a group of faith leaders – representing the Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Sikh and Baháʼí religions – took part in the first social action project under the new theme. Together they wrote cards for users of the JW3 Foodbank, for which guests brought donations of their 20 most needed items.

Speakers and VIPs on the night included Progressive Judaism Co-Lead Rabbi Josh Levy; Raymond Simonson, William Galinsky and Amy Mendelsohn from JW3; Gopaljeet Bhachu, Chair of Harrow Interfaith; Sharon Daniels of the United Synagogue; and Mitzvah Day’s four CEOs from the past 20 years: Michelle Bauernfreund, Dan Rickman, Georgina Bye and Stuart Diamond.

Rabbi Josh Levy said: “Mitzvah Day reminds us that Judaism is about trying to make the world a better place. It has done something truly transformational, by bringing Jewish values and commitments to the forefront – building relationships within and between communities, and making social action and social justice a core part of our Jewish lives.”

Guests included many of the early Mitzvah Day pioneers. Among them were Juliet Simmons – the former Creative Director at the JCC for London (now JW3) who helped put on the first ever event – and Lady Daniela Pears, who pioneered Mitzvah Day’s interfaith outreach work. They were joined by Ben Rich, who helped brand and promote the charity in its formative years, founding trustee Ben Leon and Gary Sakol of Westminster Synagogue, who did much of the groundwork to make Mitzvah Day work – as well as Laura Marks’ mum Shirley and daughter Sally, who have been involved throughout the full two decades.

Juliet, who was presented with a special award as ‘Mitzvah Day’s First Heroine’, said: “Today it is almost impossible to imagine the Jewish community without either JW3 or Mitzvah Day in it. But these things don’t just happen, they take hard work, determination and a lot of love.”

Ben, of South Hampstead United Synagogue, added: “For 20 years, Mitzvah Day has filled our communities with love, kindness and chesed – with everyone coming together as one to repair our world.”

There was also a special award on the night for Sir Trevor Pears, Executive Chair of Pears Foundation who was named ‘Mitzvah Day’s Greatest Mensch’. Ingrid Segal of Northwood & Ruislip United Synagogue picked up her lifetime achievement prize, having missed the recent Mitzvah Day Awards through illness.

Over the last 20 years Mitzvah Day has had the support and active participation of Prime Ministers Sir Keir Starmer, Theresa May, David Cameron and Boris Johnson, as well as Britain’s most senior politicians, faith leaders and a sprinkling of celebrities (including Maureen Lipman, Esther Rantzen, Hugh Dennis and Tracy-Ann Oberman).