HOW OUR GOOD DEEDS BECOME A UNIFYING FORCE

Here's Riaz Ravat's First Person column from today's Leicester Mercury:

How our good deeds become a unifying force 

Riaz Ravat looks ahead to Mitzvah Day, a charity event which brings different faiths together 

In a few days' time, the Jewish community of Leicestershire will once again team up with St Philip's Centre and other faiths to mark Mitzvah Day, or as some call it, "good deed" day. The event coincides with the start of national Inter-Faith Week which this year marks its third anniversary. 

Last year's Mitzvah Day took all of us organisers by surprise. Barely a day after the national Children in Need appeal, the people of Leicestershire continued their unstinting generosity by donating toiletries to our cause. Our campaign was to help people who have escaped domestic violence and who were forced to live in safe houses as a result. Mitzvah Day is an expression of how a small community, the Jewish community, makes a big difference to those on the frontline of societal ills. 

Enshrined in the teachings of so many faiths, social action has become more pressing, particularly in light of the tough economic climate we are all living in. While dialogue creates the opening for good community relations, action helps to solidify it. We in Leicester have pioneered a new way of expressing commitment to each of our respective faiths while sharing a platform of co-operation with others. 

In September, Sewa Day or "service" day, which is rooted in Buddhist, Hindu, Jain and Sikh faiths, provided an opportunity for these faiths to work alongside Christians, Jews and Muslims to deliver a teatime treat for elderly folk from the West Indian Senior Citizens Project. Likewise Mitzvah Day with its Jewish origins will open the doors for other faiths to come on board to show that Leicester's contribution in both method and model, is original and distinctive. Already Christian, Hindu, Sikh and Muslim groups have pledged donations. 

Our Mitzvah Day effort does not collect money but bathroom items. We do not need £1 off you when a pair of toothbrushes costing 10p at the checkout will do for our collection. As with last year, however, the reality is very different with people donating over and above our expectations. Generosity is an attribute which is often missing in any discourse which attempts to define the meaning of "Britishness". Rather than some who are obsessed by the criteria of ethnicity, we should instead focus on ethics. By doing this we can have a proper assessment about the input made to advance life for all in the UK. 

The Jewish community offers a blueprint for other minorities as to how a small community, can make a sizeable contribution to wider society. The good deeds of the Jewish community in this city stretching back several centuries, reminds us that communities, however small, have been through many storms yet by remaining resilient and resolute, their efforts have generated rewards which everyone in society benefits from. 

Mitzvah Day is next Sunday. 

Riaz Ravat is based at St Philip's Centre, Leicester