Tzedakah Project

In the Jewish faith, ‘tzedakah’ is the concept of righteousness or justice, at the center of which is a spiritual obligation to give to charity. Seventh graders at Brandeis Hillel Day School in San Rafael put tzedakah into practice each year through a special project. Each student chooses a local charity whose cause they feel passionate about, arrange a visit to the agency to speak with staff and see services in action, and then present about the charity to their classmates using a poster board or a video. After the presentations, the seventh graders then allocate monetary gifts to the different charities. All organizations get a base amount of money, but this year eight organizations were selected to receive more than the base amount. 

This year, Brandeis Hillel seventh grader Victoria Ginzburg (pictured) chose to research and present on St. Anthony’s. “I decided to choose St. Anthony’s because of their clear msision statement, their sense of community, the programs they offer, and the impact they have made and will make,” said Victoria, who visited St. Anthony’s while conducting research and put together this video on poverty and homelessness in the Bay Area. Thanks to Victoria’s hard work, St. Anthony’s was awarded a gift of $115 from the Seventh Grade Tzedakah Project.

We appreciate Victoria and the Brandeis Hillel 7th graders for practicing smart philanthropy and for embodying tzedakah in our Bay Area community!