The project is a program of Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts.
Passover starts at sundown on April 14, but volunteers, through Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts' Passover Project, have already paid tribute to the eight-day festival, celebrating the liberation of the Israelites from bondage in ancient Egypt.
Volunteers, including more than 50 students from area Jewish day schools, helped pack and deliver 260 bags of kosher Passover food for distribution to Jewish families for the holiday through more than 20 organizations, including day care centers, food pantries and assisted living facilities in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties.
According to a release, the program has grown from "serving tens to hundreds of Jewish families and individuals."
Passover bags were also delivered to 40 home bound elders through the Springfield Jewish Community Center’s meals-on-wheels kosher program.
“The JFS Passover Project is one of the highlights of the year for us. Our board, staff, volunteers and contributors join in assisting members of the Jewish community with their Passover celebration. This holiday is about renewed hope and faith; our Passover Project is a communal action on this belief,” said Bob Marmor, president and chief executive officer of JFS.
Participating students, ages 10 through 15 who helped pack bags at the offices of the JFS on the Grinspoon Jewish Community Campus, represented Heritage Academy, Sandy Kupperman Learning Center, Lander-Grinspoon Academy and Lubavitcher Yeshiva Academy.
The project represents JFS’s value of tikkun olam, which means to repair the world through acts of loving kindness.