In an inspiring display of community, more than 1,000 local volunteers came together with Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County’s Kohl Jewish Volunteer Center (Kohl JVC) in partnership with Palm Beach Atlantic University to make a powerful impact during Good Deeds Day – a global day of service that began in Israel in 2007.
Now in its ninth year in the Palm Beaches, volunteers of all ages participated in a wide range of service projects, reflective of the Jewish value of tikkun olam (repairing the world).
“Good Deeds Day is an inspiring example of what happens when a community comes together with purpose,” said Michael Hoffman, President & CEO of Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County. “Seeing volunteers, from young children to seniors and from all backgrounds, come together throughout the Palm Beaches is incredibly powerful. The collective impact will be felt far beyond this single day.”
From packing meals to cleaning beaches and so much more, here are the highlights from Good Deeds Day 2025:
Meal packing: An extraordinary 250 volunteers packed a record 53,856 breakfast meals for Caridad Center, Quantum House, Palm Beach County Food Bank, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (in partnership with Restoration Bridge International), and Palm Beach Harvest.
Gleaning at a local farm: In partnership with Cros Ministries, more than 100 volunteers of all ages gleaned nearly 5,000 pounds of peppers from a local farm. The produce was donated to the Palm Beach County Food Bank.
Beach cleanup: More than 80 volunteers of all ages helped clean the shoreline at Singer Island Beach by collecting more than 60 pounds of garbage, along with our partner the Beach Bucket Foundation. These efforts are critical to turn the tide on marine pollution.
Family-friendly phone-a-thon: An inspiring group of 25 volunteers, including many teens, helped raise thousands of dollars to fuel Federation’s work by making phone calls on behalf of Federation’s Annual Campaign. This mitzvah helps Federation continue to do life-saving work around the world.
Family succulent plant party with local seniors: Children and students in the community helped bring smiles to the faces of Wellington Bay Retirement Community residents who enjoyed a plant-making party thanks to our friends at PJ Library.
Family Mitzvah Madness & Magic: Nearly 80 children and their families joined together as Federation’s Sundays Together, a family Jewish educational experience, collaborated for a special morning of Mitzvah Madness & Magic. Children made blankets for Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies, decorated water bottles for Edna W. Runner Education Center, painted kindness rocks, made friendship bracelets, and created Passover items for their families’ seder table. The families also enjoyed a magic show with Eric the Magic Guy.
Nourishing knowledge packing party: Nearly two dozen volunteers from the Admirals Cove community in Jupiter packed 65 backpacks with brand-new school essentials and 100 weekend lunches for students in underserved Title I schools throughout Palm Beach County.
The spirit of generosity even extended beyond these events. Community members also supported important causes across Palm Beach County, including: life-saving blood donations through the Big Red Bus; contributing hundreds of essentials for new mothers for the Basics4Babies initiative at Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies; giving much-needed school supplies donations to the Education Foundations of Palm Beach County’s Red Apple Supplies; donations of special occasion outfits for teens through Prom Beach; delivering handmade blankets and hats to BRIDGES of Palm Beach County; Shabbat meals for Jewish families in need, thanks to donations to Laszalo’s Caring Kitchen; creation of DIY enrichment toys to support the recovery of animals at Busch Wildlife Sanctuary; stocking a kosher pantry at Quantum House; and providing 125 hygiene kits, packed by students at Temple Beth Torah, for Caridad Center in Boynton Beach.
In addition to Good Deeds Day, Federation’s Kohl JVC has rapidly expanded in recent years to meet emerging community needs that are currently outpacing available programs and services. Since its inception, Kohl JVC’s projects have helped more than 120,000 local community members in need, thanks to more than 5,000 annual volunteers who have helped pack and distribute meals, support literacy in local schools, provide essential supplies for those in need, and more.
