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Source: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/My-word-Doing-good-is-going-strong-485699
Good Deeds Day in Israel
(Jerusalem Post) Liat Collins - More than a million Israelis marked Good Deeds Day on March 28. Launched in 2006 by businesswoman and philanthropist Shari Arison, now nearly all municipalities in the country and hundreds of schools, businesses, organizations and the IDF offer their services as part of the project. The activities included volunteers painting houses and daycare facilities for the elderly; cleaning up beaches and parks; renovating daycare facilities for children at risk; planting and tending community gardens; packing and delivering food packages for the needy; and recycling projects. Among my favorites are volunteers who cut hair to be donated to make wigs for cancer sufferers. The Israeli state education system considers fostering a spirit of volunteering an essential part of the curriculum. Students from 10th grade on have to volunteer 60 hours a year in projects including helping in hospitals, clinics and old-age homes; serving with the ambulance, police or fire services; repairing old computers for those unable to afford new ones; and helping children with illnesses and disabilities.