Mitzvah Day
The school community has been busy contributing to Mitzvah Day this week – an opportunity to show kindness, to give back and to make a difference.
For the past four years, pupils, staff and parents have been involved in Mitzvah Day, a Hampstead-based charity founded ten years ago by South Hampstead alumna, Laura Marks, who was awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours list for her work building interfaith relationships. The word Mitzvah, meaning an act of kindness, provides the basis for the day, whereby people of all faiths come together to give time, not money, to make a difference. On Mitzvah Day last year, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, Bishop of Edmonton Rob Wickham and MP Keir Starmer were among VIP visitors to the school who helped students, parents and staff sort through all the generous donations of clothes for the homeless.
For this year’s Mitzvah Day, the school community has been working to help Little Village, a charity helping local families in need, by donating baby clothing and equipment. South Hampstead has also been supporting The Backpack Project, a campaign run by Mary’s Meals. Girls have been recycling old backpacks and filling them with everyday educational equipment, such as pens and notebooks; the filled backpacks are then sent to school children in Malawi, helping to ensure they get the most out of their education.
Today, we were delighted to welcome Lady Daniela Pears – trustee and Interfaith Chair of Mitzvah Day – into school, as staff and pupils sorted through the piles of donations for the charities. The Sixth Form Charity Team, led by Emma and Millie, mobilised hundreds of families to donate and encouraged dozens of helpers to fill 160 backpacks, which will then be sent to Africa.
History Teacher Mrs Boyarsky, who coordinates South Hampstead’s Mitzvah Day activities alongside the Sixth Form Charity Team, commented: “It is wonderful to see such enthusiasm from girls across the year groups. Mitzvah Day always provides a great focus for the whole school to engage with the local community and to help others. We are very grateful for everyone’s support.”
Through volunteering, fundraising and helping in the local community, South Hampstead girls are engaged in a variety of charitable activities, helping to foster a culture of kindness and an outward-looking ethos; it is one of the many ways that girls here are encouraged to be morally responsible citizens of the future. Our school’s emblematic torch stands for the values that really matter in our community: Thoughtfulness, Open-heartedness, Respect, Courage and Honesty.