Chanukah Acts of Kindness

At Chanukah we celebrate the Miracle of the Oil lasting for 8 days in the Temple, a lot longer than the Maccabees thought. We remember how the Maccabees were trapped in the Temple for days, and this year more than ever we can recognise the feeling of being trapped inside and isolated from others, even though the threat is of a different nature.

This Chanukah we therefore ask you to also take part in our Eight Acts of Kindness. Each day there is a way you can make the world a little better and shine a light in the darkness.

Great Ormond Street Hospital
As we celebrate Chanukah by tucking into doughnuts, sharing gifts, and lighting the chanukiah, some children will be spending Chanukah in hospital. Help bring light to those children at GOSH by donating to raise funds for their interactive Play team. The Play team provides care that goes beyond the medical needs of each child, providing an opportunity for children to work through any emotions and worries they have about being in hospital.

Visit justgiving.com/campaign/goshchanukah to get involved and brighten a child’s day.

Send a Chanukah Card
With all the emails, WhatsApps and social media messaging, it’s so easy for a greeting to be missed. Getting a letter in the post however still has that air of excitement – unless it’s a bill. Why not take today to brighten up someone’s day by sending, or hand delivering, a Chanukah card.
Head on over to our Chanukah Resouces Page, where we’ve got some templates that you can print out and decorate, and do upload photos of them onto our Facebook Group for inspiration to other members! 

Whether it’s someone in your home, someone far away or someone you don’t know via charities like Aleh, adi-il.org, go that extra mile to bring a smile to their face.

Donate to a local food bank
At a time when we are enjoying delicious food cooked in basics like oil as well as treats like chocolate, our thoughts also turn to those who
are not lucky enough to have access to a good meal. More than 14 million people in the UK live below the poverty line and there are
over 2000 food banks in the UK; providing emergency food and compassionate support to people locked in crisis.

Two thirds of these food banks are run by The Trussell Trust, a charity who campaign for change to end the need for food banks in the
UK. Visit trusselltrust.org to find your local bank and donate anything you can – food, toiletries, money or even your time. Even the smallest
donation can change someone’s world.

Clear out that Closet
While a lot of charity shops are currently closed, the good news is that the holiday period offers the chance to have a clearout of clothes and other household items that you don’t need any longer (or that might not fit after all those latkes and doughnuts!) So why not bag them
up ready to donate to organisations like All Aboard which will even collect from your house. Visit allaboardshops.com to find out more. And if the item you don’t want any longer is a car, you can even raise money through the Giveacar scheme. Visit giveacar.co.uk/charities/jewish-care to find out more.

Camp Simcha - Buy a gift or Donate
As we light the Chanukiah kids’ eyes light up with the presents, doughnuts, games and songs that soon follow! The festival is all about the children, so today, why not make a child’s life better by supporting Camp Simcha.

Camp Simcha exists to make a difference to seriously ill Jewish children and their families. Whether it’s a physical or mental health issue,
Camp Simcha is there to ensure that no such child or their family, anywhere in the UK has to suffer without support.

Buy a Chanukah gift from their shop, send a Chanukah gift certificate, or donate your time or money to help this amazing charity by visiting
campsimcha.org.uk

Connect with a friend or relative
We’ve all had those times where you bump into someone on the street (maybe not this year) when we say “Oh we really must catch up!” and didn’t follow through. Maybe there’s that friend that you keep thinking of, a family member you’ve not spoken to in a while or even someone you’ve fallen out with. Take this day to pop a message to them, don’t wait for them to make the first move, reach out and
reconnect. It’s very easy for “I’ll do it later” to become never; so change that motto to “No Day but Today”.

Give as you Shop
There are now some great ways to donate money to charity while you do your shopping. There are some great platforms to help you such as Kindred.co or easyfundraising.org.uk or Giveasyoulive.com. Even Amazon smile donates 0.5% of what you purchase to your chosen charity (smile.amazon.co.uk). It’s also a great time to support local shops – if you take advantage of the American Express Shop Small offer on
5th December, then you can donate the money you save by shopping local to your favourite charity. Visit americanexpress.com/uk/benefits/
shop-small/about.html?intlink=uk-en-shopsmallaboutshopsmall to find out more.

Be Kind to Yourself
On airplanes you put on your mask before helping a child, because you need to be healthy to properly help others. Take this final day to give yourself a treat, to make sure your needs are being met, to put yourself first. We’re not saying go binge Netflix (though you’re welcome to) but take this time to ask yourself “how are you? What do you need?”; and remember to be kind to yourself. Life is hard enough without you putting yourself down. 

So, take a breath, you’re doing your best, well done; and if you ever need to talk, you’re part of a wonderful Westminster Synagogue Community, where there’ll always be someone to listen.