Mitzvah Central A guide to giving back in the Greater Dallas community In 1998, Mitzvah Central was created by Barbara Schwarz, a dedicated volunteer of Jewish Family Service of Greater Dallas. It began as a resource for students to find volunteer opportunities in the community to fulfill school service hours or for Bar/Bat Mitzvah requirements. Mitzvah Central has expanded over the last two decades and now works to connect the people of Greater Dallas to the opportunities that are available to give back to their communities, regardless of their age. The PDF document can be navigated in one of two ways. You can either select a cause category that interests you to jump to a list of organizations that support that cause or you can sift through a list of all agencies, and review the causes that they support in their description. Once you’ve found an agency you’d like to give your time to, please contact the Volunteer Coordinator listed to schedule your opportunity. We want to know about your experiences and how you used Mitzvah Central to connect to a cause you’re passionate about and make a difference in your community. Contact us at vols@jfsdallas.org to tell us your story of volunteerism! Thank you again on behalf of all of the agencies listed, for taking time out of your day to help others. Mitzvah Central is available as a pdf on the JFS website at jfsdallas.org/volunteer. If you know of an agency that is not on the list but would be well-suited for Mitzvah Central, please provide us with the organization’s name and, if possible, the name of their Volunteer Coordinator. Barbara Schwarz JFS Volunteer, Mitzvah Central Founder/Coordinator vols@jfsdallas.org Kristen Jackson Director of Volunteer Engagement at JFS kjackson@jfsdallas.org Table of Contents Click the link to jump to that category. All Agencies Jewish Organizations Filtered by Cause Advocacy Animals Arts and Culture Community Development Disaster and Emergency Preparedness Education Environment Food and Hunger Government and Civic Services Health and Wellness Homelessness and Housing Immigration and Refugees International Relief Job Training and Employment Literacy Mental Health Older Adult Care Special Needs Veterans Filtered by Type of Opportunity Family Opportunities Holidays and One Time Events Remote Opportunities Weekend Opportunities All Agencies This is a master list of all the agencies that are included in Mitzvah Central. Aaron Family Jewish Community Center Mission statement: The JCC of Dallas brings the community together by providing state-of-the-art facilities and exceptional programs in an inclusive environment defined by Jewish values. Organization Website: jccdallas.org City Name/General Location: Dallas, West of 75 between Forest Ln & Royal Ln Phone Number: 214-739-2737 Contact Person Name and Title: Laura Seymour, Director of Camping Services Contact Email: lseymour@jccdallas.org Age Requirements: Based on project Types of Opportunities: Both remote and in-person, Holidays and One Time Events Weekend Availability: Yes, Sundays, when needed Causes: Arts and Culture, Education, Food and Hunger, Health and Wellness Ability Connection Mission statement: Enriching the lives of people with disabilities…one person at a time Organization Website: abilityconnection.org City Name/General Location: Dallas, Harry Hines and Regal Row Phone Number: 214-351-2500 Contact Person Name and Title: Landon Cole, Volunteer and Community Outreach Manager Contact Email: lcole@abilityconnection.org Age Requirements: N/A Types of Opportunities: In-Person Opportunities only Weekend Availability: No, not at this time Categories: Special Needs ACEing Autism Dallas Mission statement: ACEing Autism - Dallas offers weekly tennis lessons to children and adults on the autistic spectrum. Each student works one-on-one with 12 volunteer instructors. The program uses the game of tennis to improve gross and small-motor skills, hand-eye coordination, communications, social skills, and selfesteem. Organization Website: aceingautism.org City Name/General Location: UT Dallas Tennis Complex in Richardson Phone Number: 214-901-9010 Contact Person Name and Title: Adrienne Bransky, Program Director Contact Email: dallas@aceingautism.org Age Requirements: 12 years or older Types of Opportunities: In-Person opportunities only, family opportunities Weekend Availability: Yes, Saturday mornings Causes: Education, Health and Wellness, Special Needs Achieve (Formerly Citizens Deve