Every year on UJC Mitzvah Day, over 150 UJC members come together to create small miracles in Hong Kong by volunteering at a variety of worthwhile organizations and charities.

On a Sunday in December, we gather at the JCC for breakfast and a kick-off, and then divide up into teams to volunteer throughout Hong Kong.  There is always a wide variety of volunteering opportunities— over the years Mitzvah Day Partners have included Habitat for Humanity, The Boys’ & Girls’ Club, ImpactHK, China Coast Community, Ark Eden, Hong Kong Dog Rescue, Soap Cycling, Feeding Hong Kong, Sunshine Action, The Red Cross, Lizzie Bee Foundation, Fu Hong Society, Pathfinders, Plastic Free Seas, Christian Action’s Refugee Centre, The Amber Foundation, and Clean-Up Hong Kong Trails –- so everyone, from 2 to 82, can take part in some hands-on Tikkun Olam.

The UJC NETTs  (Native English Teen Tutors) program is for teens who have celebrated B’nai Mitzvah and want to engage in meaningful Tikkun Olam. Participants also get to enjoy Shabbat lunch, engage in Jewish learning, and spend time together.

UJC NETTs travel to Tin Shui Wai five or six times during the academic year where they meet with the local teens at HLC (Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups Lee Shau Kee College) and spend the morning helping in the school’s Extended English Program.  After each session of tutoring, teens from The UJC gather at the Rabbi’s flat for Shabbat lunch and a learning session that will provides a Jewish context for the important work they are doing and enables them to understand their role in Tikkun Olam.

UJC volunteers are always happy to roll up their sleeves and help out when the opportunity arises.  Recently, several UJC volunteers took part in Habitat For Humanity’s Project Homeworks where they cleaned and painted apartments for elderly people in Hong Kong. Other efforts have included a Diaper Drive for Pathfinders following Typhoon Mangkhut, an Interfaith Walk on Climate Change, food drives with Feeding Hong Kong, and  donation and supply drives in the wake of natural disasters in the region.