A British rabbi is leading a worldwide movement to deliver over 5,000 presents to people working on Christmas Day.
Rabbi Albert Chait MBE, from Leeds, started A Time To Say Thank You back in 2018 after visiting a local fire station and the maternity ward where his three children were born on December 25.
Despite the fact they visited on Christmas Day, operations were still running as normal – midwives were still helping women give birth, while firemen remained on call.
It was something he had done with his family for multiple years, but this time, he wanted to make a bigger impact.
“It was really in 2018 where I just thought that I love doing it. It means so much, we have the best time, and it’s so appreciated. Why not empower other people to do the same?” Mr Chait told GB News.
He began the initiative that, every year, some members of his local community would give up just one hour of their time on Christmas Day to deliver chocolate goods to those serving the community on the festive day.
From the first year, a few hundred turned up to help. Then it grew, and now Mr Chait is expecting some 5,000 to dedicate one hour of their day to delivering chocolate bouquets to those serving the community.
Describing the movement’s growth, Mr Chait said: “People would sign up, we would allocate places for every person, and they would visit wards and the hospitals in the area, the fire stations, the police stations, the homeless shelters.
Rabbi Albert Chait along with the community in Leeds who delivered hundreds of chocolate bouqets last year
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A TIME TO SAY THANK YOU
“We even found a restaurant that was opening itself to the homeless for lunch, women’s shelters too, hospices, care homes in the area. It really just grew and grew as it went on.”
He explained how the use of social media had also attracted many more across the country – and beyond – to his idea.
Because it isn’t just Leeds – A Time To Say Thank You has connected communities across Manchester, London, Liverpool, Glasgow, and even in Australia.
“Someone was in touch from Australia saying we love this idea,” Mr Chait said when asked how the idea had reached the other side of the world.
“There’s no politics with this, no boundaries, there’s no agenda. It’s just something very, in my mind, beautiful and easy. Kindness is priceless, and yet it’s so valuable.
Volunteers visit local hospital wards, among fire stations, police stations and homeless shelters
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A TIME TO SAY THANK YOU
Hundreds of chocolate bouquets are handed out at ‘local hubs’ before being distributed to those serving the community
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A TIME TO SAY THANK YOU
“So, we had a message from somebody in Australia to say, is this something that we could do? We’re in touch, to make sure that we could keep the whole project the same in every place, wherever it is – the same branding, same everything – we’re part of a big team of people that we have, and it’s got bigger there each year.”
On their website, atimetosaythankyou.com, it says that, during a period of rising antisemitism, Mr Chait “realised what an opportunity a project like this could be in re-establishing, or re-aligning in the wider sense, what Jewish people should be known for: kindness; compassion; thanksgiving and welfare.”
In the Rabbi’s own words: “We are thanking people who should be at home with their loved ones, who should be at home celebrating, who should be taking time during this holiday, but they’re not.
“They’re serving the community. And that is so profound, so beautiful, so meaningful and so inspirational that I want the Jewish community to say thank you to them.”
The initiative has generous sponsors, who donate chocolate bouquets to the “local hubs”, such as synagogues or community centres, across the country, with people donating just their time to give them out to those serving the community during the festive period.
“It solely relies on people’s generosity and donations,” Mr Chait told the People’s Channel. “We don’t ask for any money, we don’t expect anything from anyone, but we obviously survive on people’s generosity.
Manchester synagogue survivor Yoni Finlay will be part of the initiative this year
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“The people who make our chocolate bouquets are a company down south. It’s a big order for them, and we love the support.
“We’re not buying it from Cadbury’s or anything like that; no one’s giving it to us for free. It’s very self-sufficient.”
People from across the country and beyond can sign up to the movement on the website, and will be allocated certain focus areas near their “local hub”.
And those receiving the gifts aren’t notified beforehand – volunteers simply turn up on their doorstep with the donations, and say “thank you for everything you do”.
It has also created some inspirational personal stories. Mr Chait detailed how some were returning to maternity wards where their children had been born, or others to where they had lost loved ones.
One of his friends was shot during October’s terror attack on a Manchester synagogue. He is returning to the hospital ward that saved his life.
Mr Chait recognised the violence that some communities have faced this year: “The Jewish community has had a really tough couple of years or so.
“But I think the most important commodity that people forget that is so prevalent and so real within the Jewish community, is kindness.
“It’s solely about showing the wider community that we appreciate them.”
The rabbi concluded by detailing his annual message, something he addresses in his speech that has become a tradition within the initiative.
“There’s so much politics and division, and there’s so many barriers in the world today. We’re trying to build bridges,” he said.
“Each year, I try and come up with a quote of a theme to describe what we’re trying to achieve. This year it’s: gratitude is the bridge that connects communities. I think that is a very powerful thing for us this year.”
