On Sunday, March 9, Havurah’s team of 18 Good Deeds Day volunteers, age four and up, sorted a huge number of donated items at the Community Warehouse.  Jessica Thompson, who manages Community Warehouse’s volunteers, said she’d never before seen such a great number of donated items arrive in one week, and she’d never had such a big group of volunteers sorting together too. She was amazed at how much the Havurahniks accomplished in just two hours. By noon, everything was sorted and in place!

“Your team was positive, efficient, and fun–the best!” Jessica said. Executive Director Roz Babener, who joined the Sunday action, was equally impressed. You can find photos from Havurah’s Good Deeds Day project on Havurah’s Facebook page.

The Good Deeds Day project hosted by Tivnu and the Oregon Jewish Museum had a big turnout, too — with many Havurahniks joining others from the greater Portland Jewish community to paint living space for families with limited incomes.

According to the Jewish Federation, over 800 people representing more than 28 organizations volunteered at 21 different projects and three community drives throughout the Portland community. Altogether, they made life a little better for many people across Portland (and beyond!).

The event was hosted by the Portland Mitzvah Network, a newer community program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland created to support individuals, groups and organizations across the greater Portland area around hands-on volunteerism.

Next up: Havurahniks in 6th through 12th grades will join J-SERVE on April 6, from 1:00 to 4:30 pm, to volunteer at the ReBuilding Center. Register by March 28!