WASHINGTON — One of the busiest spots in the area on this Christmas Day was the Washington D.C. Jewish Community Center — where volunteers of all faiths offered a very special holiday gift to the community.
They prepared food and small gifts and delivered them to 60 different shelters and community centers.
“It is giving back — it is a day of service,” says Eileen Suffian, who led a team of cooks that gathered early in the morning to create side dishes for a holiday feast destined for the Calvary Women’s Shelter in Southeast D.C.
With a smile and an occasional pat on the back, she looked on as volunteers peeled and sliced vegetables, and placed balls of chocolate chip cookie dough on baking sheets.
They were a microcosm of the 1,000 or so people who took part in “DC25” — the annual Christmas Day event the DCJCC has hosted for 28 years.
There were singles, couples and families of all faiths — not just members of the Jewish community.
For Nabina Liebow of DC, the event has become a holiday tradition. “It’s exciting!” she exclaims, noting that every time she volunteers, she brings in other people.
This time she brought her parents to town for the occasion. Her dad, Ed Liebow, says “this was actually her gift to us for Christmas– to invite us to join her and share this experience.”
For Danielle Bennett, of D.C., volunteering on Christmas has become a way to mix her Jewish traditions with those of the non-Jewish members of her extended family. The message of peace on earth and goodwill to all is universal, and Bennett says that it is a time “to be focusing on those that don’t have as much as we do.”
The diversity of the volunteers is a source of pride for Erica Steen, the director of community engagement at the DCJCC.
“We have people of all backgrounds,” she says. “We have Jewish families with nothing else to do today and families that celebrate Christmas who make this part of their tradition.”
Steen says some volunteers have been showing up every Christmas for more than 20 years, mingling each year with lots of newcomers. Among those joining the ranks this time was a family from Florida who came to Washington for a holiday vacation.
They got a chance to chat with Steen before they went off to their holiday assignment and told her they signed up for the event online and wanted an opportunity to serve, even though they knew they would be far from home.
Social media has spread awareness of the event, which seems to grow every year. “It is word of mouth and the internet,” says Steen. “It’s an amazing thing.”
