More than 30 years ago, a group at Temple Israel met to discuss a way that they could unite their community for a day of doing good work for the greater Long Beach community, collecting food and furniture for those in need, raising money to support feeding the homeless, and contacting local organizations if there were any handywork projects they needed people power to complete. This day of giving back to the community was called Mitzvah Day (in Hebrew, the word “Mitzvah” translates to “Commandment”, but is more commonly translated at “Good Deed”). It became the dream or the Temple rabbi at the time, Steven Moskowitz, to broaden the participation beyond the Temple community, and invited the Belmont Heights United Methodist Church, the Belmont Heights Community Association, the 3rd District Councilperson’s office, and The Center LB. As a united group of community leaders was created Belmont Heights Make A Difference Day – a day where together, as a united community, we were able expand our offerings to a whole array of ways to give back and help those in our community.