By By Alexis Largoza-Gershoff

Last week, Hillel welcomed author and activist Danny Siegel in an event call “Fixing the World: An Evening with Danny Siegel.”

Siegel founded The Ziv Tzedakah Fund in 1981 on the basis of doing mitzvahs, known as good deeds, for fellow man in order to better the world.

Ziv is a non-profit organization dedicated to funding both Jewish and non-Jewish programs in the United States, Canada and Israel.

Siegel stressed that no matter how small a good deed may be, it still has an effect on people, and essentially the world.

Siegel shared an anecdote in which a woman affiliated with his organization serendipitously came upon a group of Mayan women in Guatemala.

She took note of the Mayan women’s intricate handicraft of weaving and commissioned them to make colorful yarmulkes in which all profits would go to their local villages.

“It’s all about doing,” Seigel said.

Another local organization that Ziv is affiliated with is “Rock and Wrap It Up!”

This group is dedicated to eliminating hunger in the U.S. by retrieving leftover food from campuses and public events and then distributing it to food banks.

Since its foundation, Ziv has raised and given away more than $6 million.

This was Siegel’s second visit to the University, where he was warmly received.

Siegel is the author of such books including 1+1=3, 37 Other Mitzvah Principles to Live By and Heroes and Miracle Workers.