Repair the World reaches one million acts of Jewish service, four years ahead of schedule

Repair the World, the American Jewish nonprofit that organises volunteering grounded in Jewish values, has reached its goal of one million acts of service and learning, four years earlier than planned. The organisation set the target in 2019 with a deadline of 2030. It celebrated the milestone at a gathering of supporters in Atlanta on the evening of Tuesday 13 October 2026, followed the next day by service projects across the city.

More than 700,000 volunteers took part over the six years, according to eJewishPhilanthropy. Their work ranged from helping with COVID-19 vaccination efforts to distributing supplies after the Los Angeles wildfires and cleaning beaches as part of America's 250th anniversary. On 14 October more than 80 volunteers fanned out across Atlanta, WSB Radio reported, working at Covenant House, the Jewish Family and Career Center and the Historic Westside Garden. They improved spaces that support young people without homes and painted centres that serve people experiencing homelessness.

The organisation has grown alongside the campaign. Full-time staff rose from 35 in 2019 to 59, and its budget has more than doubled since 2020. Support has included a $7 million unrestricted grant from MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett in 2021 and a $13 million investment from a collaborative of seven funders in 2025. Repair the World now has staff in 11 communities, and this year began placing employees inside partner institutions such as Orange County Hillel, the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in New Jersey and the Evelyn Rubinstein JCC in Houston. It plans to expand to seven more communities within five years. Its Jewish Service Alliance network links more than 60 Jewish organisations.

Chief executive Cindy Greenberg admitted the team had been nervous about how it would reach such an ambitious number, and said there had been no single secret to success. Jamie Weiss-Yagoda of Repair the World told WSB that the group does not just encourage others to serve but does the work itself, and that each individual act matters. Greenberg said the next million begins with the next single act.