This weekend saw Jewish communities across the borough take part in projects and events as part of a day of social action.

Mitzvah Day, a day of social action led by the Jewish community, took place this weekend and thousands of people across the borough held events from blood drives to collect-athons and afternoon teas.

Pupils from Woodside Park Synagogue Hebrew classes joined Rubens House residents in Finchley, where the children sang songs they had composed themselves and decorated biscuits with the residents.

Emily Shaw, 10, said, "I learnt a few baking tips from Sylvia and Irene and had much more fun than on a normal Sunday, it was really fun."

Later on, the residents welcomed visitors from the kindergarten and youth group at Finchley Reform Synagogue, who also sang songs and entertained the residents.

In Hendon, younger children visited Jewish Care’s Clore Manor home with the PJ Library, who lend books to children, and enjoyed story time together as well as arts and craft activities.

At Jewish Care's Kun More and George Kiss Home at the Betty and Asher Loftus Centre, 12 and 13-year-olds from Hampstead Garden Suburb Synagogue visited and Finchley Progressive Synagogue’s Israeli Dance Troupe performed for residents, before young professionals from the Six Sundays group entertained residents with guitars and board games.

In the Sidney Corob House for people with mental health needs in Temple Fortune, residents volunteered at the North London Hospice to plant bulbs for the afternoon.

As well as the Jewish community, this year's Mitzvah Day galvanised communities from other faiths to engage with good deeds.

In Golders Green, Muslims from the new Golders Green Islamic Centre joined with the congregation at the Golders Green Synagogue to give blood, while young Jewish and Muslim schoolchildren from JCoSS in New Barnet and Lady Nafisa School in Hounslow came together to cook for the homeless and clear out the Sufra NW food bank.

Mitzvah Day founder and chairman Laura Marks said: "In a divided world, where we are increasingly suspicious and often fearful of our neighbours, events such as Mitzvah Day are more vital than ever in bringing people together and beginning to form real and lasting friendships between faith groups."

Meanwhile, at Sha’arei Tsedek North London Reform Synagogue in Whetstone, congregation members were joined by Chipping Barnet MP at their fundraiser for Homeless Action in Barnet, which included teaching children about the importance of Mitzvah Day and a collection.

Ms Villiers said: "Mitzvah Day is an important opportunity to help out people facing hardship and I pay tribute to everyone involved this year.

"It was great to see so many children learning about Mitzvah Day and the importance of good deeds and voluntary work."

Ms Villiers also joined the team at Woodside Park Synagogue, where they were collecting for the Barnet Refugee Service and running a range of activities for children such as making greetings cards for the elderly and planting bulbs to be given to North London Hospice.

MP for Hendon Matthew Offord also joined in the festivities at Edgware Masorti Synagogue, where an interfaith and intergenerational afternoon tea took place, with help from live musicians and a team of volunteers.

Volunteers also helped out at the Langdon, including some from Ahavas Yisrael Synagogue in Edgware, to make cakes, run collections and stalls, while at the Tang Long Chinese centre in Golders Green, a charity held special Tai Chi and pilates classes for those with multiple sclerosis as part of the celebrations.

In Barnet people came together at the Noah's Ark Children Hospice charity shop to sort through items donated, also as part of the charity's current campaign to raise funds for the children's hospice to be built as the first phase has begun.

Mayor of Barnet Brian Salinger and Labour councillor Adam Langleben also joined in on the festivities at the Kennedy Leigh Family Centre in Hendon, where 150 volunteers visitors from synagogues, charities groups, the community and staff from Norwood, who run the centre, helped to make cupcakes, collecting clothes for charity and planting flowers in the garden.

Norwood volunteer Gloria Stoll said: "It was great to celebrate Mitzvah Day with volunteers from the synagogues, Norwood staff and helpers and others from across the community.

"The idea is for the community to come together and go good deeds for the day, and there was a real sense that we did this! I can’t wait to do it all again next year."

The day also helped to unite across party-divides, with Prime Minister Theresa May and MPs Jeremy Corbyn, Vince Cable and Nicola Sturgeon all putting out messages in support of the day.

The Prime Minister said: "Mitzvah Day is a special time when thousands of people, of different faiths and no faith, come together to help others and do something positive for their local community."