100,000 Acts of Service Challenge FAQ’s

Do you have to be Jewish?
- Definitely not! We welcome anyone who wants to make a difference in the community and be part of marking this extraordinary community milestone.

Do you have to be serving the Jewish community?
- Definitely not! 80% of JVC’s volunteer activities serve the general community.

I helped my parent. Does that count?
- That’s up to your parent. We recommend that an act of service be something you do that goes above and beyond your regular responsibilities. In general, JVC’s work focuses on helping people who are outside of our family units but every situation is different.

How do I help my child understand the difference between doing service and doing their assigned job/chore?
- This can be a tough question to discuss with your child. In general, we recommend that an act of service be something you do that is beyond a person’s responsibilities – something you choose to do rather than something that you have to do. That being said, we also hope that service will be something that each person and family builds into their household priorities and makes part of their scheduling and budgetary decision-making, so children may think of service as a “must do” rather than something that’s “above and beyond.” That mentality is very much in keeping with Jewish teaching, which commands us to care for our neighbors and the strangers among us. It may be helpful to talk with children about the circles of community around us – family and extended family, friends and neighbors, and strangers we haven’t yet met. We have responsibilities and opportunities to help in each circle and each family can decide what feels like an act of volunteer service and what feels like a responsibility.

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