2000
The idea for Mitzvah Day – which has become the UK’s largest faith-led day of social action – dates back to the year 2000, when Laura Marks CBE and her family moved from London to Los Angeles.
They joined their local Jewish congregation, Temple Israel of Hollywood, and became involved in the community’s day of good deeds – also known as Mitzvah Day.
2005 - 07
Returning to Britain in 2005, and working with what is now the JW3 Jewish community centre, Laura decided to set up Mitzvah Day for the UK.
A single event took place at the Britannia Hotel, Belsize Park, with 100 people in attendance – almost of all whom were from the Jewish community. Over the next two years, Mitzvah Day grew slowly, with 600 volunteers involved in 2007.
2008
It was in 2008, registering as a charity for the first time, that Mitzvah Day really took off. Thanks to the support of faith leaders, local politicians and the press, more than 10,000 people took part in activities all around the UK.
A key change in 2008 – inspired by a very successful interfaith Mitzvah Day being run in Nottingham – saw the Jewish community reaching out to Christians, Muslims, Hindus and neighbours and friends of all faiths and backgrounds.
2009
In 2009, Mitzvah Day was taken back abroad as it expanded internationally with projects in France, Hungary and Israel. Soon Mitzvah Day Australia and Mitzvah Day Germany were set up, running multiple projects with hundreds of people taking part.
2014
The growth continued with 15,000 volunteers in 2009 becoming 37,000 by 2014. Those supporting and taking part in Mitzvah Day included Prime Ministers, Mayors and major politicians from all parties. An event, which has now become annual, was held in the House of Commons.
2015
Marking a decade since the inaugural UK Mitzvah Day, 2015 saw several firsts – including a then-record 550 projects taking place. Now a fixture in the faith calendar, Britain’s most senior Rabbis were joined by leaders from the Muslim, Christian, Hindu, and other faiths.
One special moment saw British teenagers become the first Brits to donate blood in Israel for almost 20 years in a joint project between Mitzvah Day and Magen David Adom.
2017
Mitzvah Day’s growth continued not just in the UK, but around the world – taking Jewish-led social action to 30 countries in 2017, ranging from Australia, Germany, France, and Israel to the Philippines, Namibia, Belarus, and Romania. In total, 40,000 volunteers took part in 731 Mitzvah Days around the world.
Showing how the day truly unites people, a survey of participants by Coventry University found that 74% of those taking part came into contact with someone whom they otherwise would never have met.
2018
The tenth of anniversary of Mitzvah Day becoming a registered charity saw the most ambitious project yet – teaming up with Muslim Aid to make the largest-ever volume of chicken soup cooked in one day for the Mitzvah Day #ChickenSoupChallenge.
A flagship event at East London Mosque saw Jewish and Muslim community members from the area unite to make more than 1,000 bowls of soup.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns around the world, thousands of volunteers found new ways to perform acts of kindness on Mitzvah Day.
With the pandemic putting a stop to many traditional projects, Mitzvah Day 2020 instead saw pop-up collection points in synagogue car parks, acts of kindness brought to people’s doorsteps, virtual tea parties beamed into care homes, cakes baked for key workers and a whole host of activities taking place virtually over Zoom.
Hailed as “a feat of flexibility and a testament to the creativity of Mitzvah Day’s incredible volunteers and coordinators”, highlights included legendary TV personality Maureen Lipman leading an online lockdown cook-a-long.
2022
Making the most of the opportunity to be able to unite fully with neighbours from other faiths, after two years of lockdown restrictions, Mitzvah Day 2022 saw a number of new highs – as 45,000 volunteers took part, spreading their good deeds to 40 countries around the world.
2023
With the tragic events of October 7th always in mind, Mitzvah Day proved its ability to bring people together, even in the toughest of times, by uniting all faiths and none in social action and winning the support and participation of the UK’s political leaders.
