NOTE: The following is the introduction to Steve August’s Tikkun Olam Family Work Project, a guide to creating a service project with your family. For more information or to read the rest of the guide, please contact Steve August at fudgeaugust@hotmail.com.

Nowhere has this been more instructive to me than in the area of tikkun olam—repairing the world. As a teen, I was acutely aware of those less fortunate than me and the grave injustices that existed throughout the world, leaving many hungry, homeless or worse. Thinking that this condition was inexcusable, I could never understand why adults seemed to accept the situation while, at the same time, teaching me to value the importance of tzedakah and tikkun olam. The sense of hypocrisy struck deep and I always said that things would be different "when I was a parent."

Now I am that parent.

What could I do now as an adult to demonstrate that my concern for those less fortunate was more than just words, and that I wanted my children to adopt not only a moral compass but a willingness to use that compass on a lifetime journey of tikkun olam?

My children came home from mitzvah day at our local Hebrew school feeling less than completely fulfilled by their opportunity on a Sunday morning to rake leaves (picture two rakes and 10 kids standing around). When I saw them, I was quickly transported back to my own feelings as a teenager that the idea of helping others, while commendable, needn’t go terribly far. Not wanting this feeling to continue into the next generation, I decided that I would create a tikkun olam family work project that would demonstrate to my children that I, too, wanted to help repair the world and that I was willing to take action and "walk the walk."

I had heard of churches that took families on summer mission trips to far away places to help build a new house or community center and I wondered if there were similar opportunities within the Jewish community. I researched this question and learned that Jewish intergenerational opportunities were scarce or nonexistent.

So, the summer after my son’s bar mitzvah, Ben and I went on a Baptist church mission to Muskogee, Oklahoma. When I got back, I decided to put a Jewish program together that would allow parents and their children (ideally all ages of children) to go away for a week together to construct or rehabilitate housing for low-income families. I think that the benefits of such a program are enormous.

First, kids watch everything we do. They quickly learn that the things that are worth copying are reflected by the actions that we as parents are willing to take. There is no better way to instill the obligation to perform tikkun olam than to do tikkun olam together with your children. As parents, you will also get a wonderful opportunity to fulfill your idealistic adolescent desire to make the world a better place and realize that these dreams need not die an untimely death just because you’ve reached the world of adulthood.

Second, being together with your children in a new environment while working on a construction project gives your children a wonderful feeling of empowerment—and the security of knowing that you are present while they are doing good things for the world. They are proud of their accomplishments and can share it with you in real time.

By participating together with your children, you are silently sending the message that you value the contribution that each of your children is already able to make toward mending the world. Your children will sense this by your willingness to share this experience and will feel valued and respected.

This will hopefully provide a lasting feeling of empowerment for your children that is invaluable as they grow into adulthood. After all, don’t we all want our children to feel that they can do whatever needs to be done to heal poverty and injustice?

The group will also become Jewish ambassadors to the world, demonstrating that the Jewish people are committed to helping others in need, regardless of race or religion. Along these lines, the experience will help those living in areas with little or no Jewish community the chance to meet you and learn more about what it means to be Jewish. You, too, will get a terrific opportunity to meet and learn about people from many other backgrounds, religions and cultures.

As a group working together in a different community, your family will learn the ups and downs of trying to make the world a better place. You will learn humility, patience and the difficulty of achieving all of your goals despite your best intentions and efforts. But most importantly, each of you will learn that tikkun olam is not a passive obligation that others will undertake on your behalf, but rather a responsibility that each of us can undertake in our own small ways to do our part. In Pirkei Avot, it says that we are not obligated to finish the task, but neither are we free to neglect it. That one sentence sums it up for me.

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This article was reprinted with permission from socialaction.com, a website with a mission to be the central resource for Jewish social action information— both to organizations and individuals looking for ways to make a positive impact on the world. Sign up for the free e-letter at www.socialaction.com.