Sunday brings the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Volunteer Center’s Good Deeds Day. Good Deeds Day was started by the Arison family of Israel to encourage individuals to engage in volunteerism on a single day. To give you a sense of its scope and reach, I share with you a quote from the Good Deeds Day Wikipedia page: “In 2016, Good Deeds Day’s 10th anniversary, approximately 1,500,000 participants from75 countries volunteered, making it the largest and most global day yet. To celebrate, project organizers held mega events in New York City, Sao Paulo, Brazil and Rome, Italy.”

This year, our Federation’s Volunteer Center reached out well beyond the Jewish community by working with neighborhood associations as well as religious and non-religious nonprofits to recruit volunteers. We already have exceeded prior attendance records and while I apologize that registration is closed for this Sunday, I hope you share my excitement for the fact that our Federation is the organizer of a day that involves broad Pittsburgh engagement and support.

I have not mentioned Federation’s fundraising progress in quite some time. I am happy to report that our 2017 Annual Campaign has now reached $11 Million. We are running ahead in pace and dollars towards our lofty goal of $14 Million. Thanks to everyone who has already committed to this year’s effort and a special thank you to all our volunteer fundraisers who are reaching out and asking our fellow community members for their participation.

Shabbat Shalom. Have a good week of Passover cleaning!