The Weeks of Good Deeds have concluded in Dnipro. This year, at the “Hillel” Jewish Student Cultural Center, they lasted not one but a full two weeks – and became a true marathon of sincerity, care, and volunteering.
Alona Kolpina, Director of Hillel, shares: “What are the Weeks of Good Deeds? The Week of Good Deeds is an international volunteer initiative that annually unites thousands of people worldwide around simple but important actions: helping neighbors, supporting communities, caring for the environment, people, and animals. It is about a culture of responsibility where goodness becomes not a one-time event but a way of life.
For Hillel JCC, participating in this initiative has long been a good tradition. But this year, the organizers decided: one week was not enough. Thus, the Weeks of Good Deeds were born – two event-filled weeks where every activity was about action, meaning, and support.
On April 12, the grand opening of the Weeks of Good Deeds at Hillel took place – a charity market and a musical live house, which served as a vibrant start to the project. Throughout the month, volunteers collected clothes, books, and other useful items to give them a second life at a charity flea market. Everyone could find something needed for themselves while also contributing to a good cause. The collected items will go to affected families in front-line territories, and the books will replenish the library of Chernihiv, which suffered from an enemy attack.
On the opening day, volunteer workshops also operated, where goodness was literally created with one’s own hands: participants made beeswax candles for clients of the Chesed Menachem Foundation and painted gingerbread cookies for children in a shelter for IDPs. The culmination of the day was the charity live house. The intimate atmosphere, songs with guitar, heartfelt conversations – all this helped not only unite people around the idea of goodness but also raise funds for a trip to an animal shelter.
On April 17, the “Workshop of Good” took place – a masterclass on making new soap from old remnants. This environmentally friendly and caring initiative resulted in the creation of kits, which, together with support cards written by volunteers, will be given to Ukrainian soldiers.
On April 18, volunteers went to the “DniproAnimals” shelter, where they spent a day among rescued animals. Helping the shelter, interacting with, and showing attention to its residents served as another reminder: goodness knows no boundaries, and all living creatures need care.
On April 22, as part of the “Judaism with Taste” project, participants discussed volunteering in Israel, shared examples of community initiatives, and together celebrated Earth Day, reflecting on environmental responsibility. This educational event was further proof that good deeds begin with ideas that inspire action.
On April 24, volunteers joined a special Shabbos delivery as part of the “Shabbat To Go” project. In addition to the traditional Shabbos package – juice, challahs, candles, and blessings – this time participants added beeswax candles, made by their own hands during the volunteer workshops, to the packages. Thus, care became even warmer and more personal.
On April 25, the final event was a trip to children in a shelter for internally displaced persons. Volunteers held a creative slime-making workshop, played, talked, and also gave the children gingerbread cookies painted by the participants themselves. Symbolically, the goodness created at the beginning of the project reached its recipients at its conclusion.
This year’s Weeks of Good Deeds at Hillel once again demonstrated: volunteering is not only about helping but also about community, inspiration, and the power of small steps that change the world around us.
We at Hillel firmly believe: good deeds do not end with calendar dates. They continue every day – in the actions, meetings, and people who choose to be caring. And it is with this that great changes begin. This project was made possible, in part, thanks to the support of the united and cohesive Dnipro Jewish Community under the leadership of its Chief Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki, which consistently develops a culture of responsibility and care for one’s neighbor.”
