Brooklyn MLK Family Day of Service

Serve, Learn, Create, and Make a Difference, Together!

Calling Brooklyn Families! Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a hands-on morning of community service designed especially for young children and their grownups. Rooted in the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam—our responsibility to repair the world—this family-friendly program invites children and adults to serve together through acts of kindness, justice, and care for our neighbors.

This morning of service brings families together to live out Jewish values across generations, using hands-on action as a way to care for our neighbors and community. Families of all backgrounds who are inspired by service grounded in these values are warmly welcome.

Families will engage in hands-on service experiences with age-appropriate learning moments woven throughout. At each station, families will contribute to a project that directly support local and global organizations and community needs—including kid-friendly cooking projects, packaging adaptive-product kits, packing hygiene kits, assembling care packages and cards, and sorting donated children’s books to support literacy efforts across New York City.

This program is presented by The Senesh School in partnership with Repair the World, TOM - Tikkun Olam Makers, JCC Brooklyn Preschools and Summer Camp, Sprout Brooklyn Day Camp, Tkiya Music, PJ Library, and the Jewish Agency for Israel, with generous support from UJA-Federation of New York.

📚Before You Come - Book Donation Drive (Optional)

Families are welcome (but not required) to bring new or gently used children’s books (ages 0–18) to support our literacy service project with Brooklyn Book Bodega. Books will be sorted together during the event and distributed to families across NYC.

We especially welcome foreign-language and dual-language books, as well as nonfiction.
Please no religious books, textbooks, activity books, encyclopedias, or damaged or outdated books.

Jewish Values in Action

Families will rotate through a variety of engaging service activities designed to be meaningful and accessible for all ages, with simple learning moments woven throughout to help children connect their actions to Dr. King’s values of fairness, courage, and compassion—and to Jewish values like Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) and Chesed (loving-kindness):

• Support Neighbors Experiencing Food Insecurity
  Take part in kid-friendly cooking activities that support local food-distribution efforts across New York City.

• Spread the Joy of Reading
  Sort and bundle children’s books to help increase access to literacy-rich homes across New York City.

• Build Something That Helps Others
  Pack accessible product kits and explore how inclusive design can make everyday tasks easier for people with different abilities.

• Brighten Someone’s Day
  Create artwork and write cards to uplift individuals and families experiencing hardship.

• Care and Connection with Israel
  Engage in a hands-on service project led by Israeli shlichim (emissaries) to support individuals and communities in Israel.

• Special Program for our Littlest Helpers (great for kids under 5)
  Delight in music, storytelling, sensory play, and a hands-on cooking activity designed just for our youngest helpers, with Tkiya Music, PJ Library, and JCC Brooklyn.

Join us to honor Dr. King's legacy through community, creativity, and collective action.  Let's make a difference, together! 

Who We Serve

This year’s projects will benefit local and global communities through partnerships with organizations working in areas such as:

• food access and nutrition support,

• literacy and early childhood education,

• elder support and community connection,

• immigrant and refugee services

• initiatives that create mobility, access, and independence for young children with disabilities

• hands-on service and care supporting individuals and communities in Israel

Organizations We’re Supporting Include:

• Brooklyn Book Bodega — increasing access to book-rich homes for children across New York City

• Crown Heights Jewish Community Council — supporting local neighbors through hygiene kit distribution and essential services

• Early Starters International — bringing back a healthy childhood to young children in emergency situations and vulnerable communities around the world.

• Met Council Brooklyn Hub — Met Council is America’s largest Jewish non-profit organization dedicated to fighting poverty.

• The Migrant Kitchen Initiative — supporting food-insecure New Yorkers through community-based cooking and meal distribution

This list may not be final and will continue to be updated as projects and community needs develop.