Community in Action

On Monday, at the Work for the World Fair, PJA transformed into a global village! This event, created several years ago to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., offers a day of hands-on community service for all ages. MLK Day and the Work for the World Fair provide us with a wonderful opportunity to live out our middot (values), particularly the values of kehillah (community) and akhrayut (responsibility).

This year, we were thrilled to welcome 100 families from all across Portland to the Fair. Together, we made 23 "Welcome Home" signs for families moving back into housing through Path Home, prepared 100 Winter Care Kits and 320 PB&J sandwiches for Blanchet House to distribute to people living on the street, and cooked 10 lasagnas for p:ear and Transition Projects to serve at local shelters.

We also raised $500 for LA Wildfire Relief and $300 for 3GPNW, collected over seven boxes of children's books for SMART, braided dozens of dog toys for Oregon Dog Rescue, and planted dozens of seeds of chesed (kindness) alongside native seed balls to enrich our gardens. Other activities included creating friendship bracelets to share, bundling towels and cutlery for Community Warehouse customers, and so much more!

We are grateful to all our partners who helped organize and run this special day: PJ Library, Mittleman Jewish Community Center, the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland and their amazing Mitzvah Project volunteers, as well as BB 360 and their dedicated B’nai Mitzvah volunteers. A special thank you goes to the PJA Student Ambassadors, who checked in guests, supervised activities, guided people around the building, and were gracious hosts throughout the event.

Finally, a heartfelt thank you to all the families who attended, donated their time and effort, and helped make a positive impact on our community. One participant shared her thoughts in a thank-you email after the event:

“We attended yesterday’s Work for the World Fair with our kids and were absolutely delighted by the event! Kudos to you and your team for coordinating such a wonderful experience. We loved the opportunity to support so many nonprofits in a single, easy-to-navigate format. Every detail seemed thoughtfully planned. Most impressive were the youth volunteers, who were attentive, professional, and friendly. What an asset to the community this event was!”

We look forward to providing this experience again next year!