Many people would tell you that volunteering is its own reward. And for Jared Orkin, who spends time as a Jewish Big Brother, the relationship he's built with his "little," Isaac, is plenty rewarding. But Jared's time volunteering yielded another benefit -- the idea for a business that's made him one of the youngest entrepreneurs in our community.

"I became a Jewish Big Brother a little more than a year ago," he told JewishBoston.com this morning. "We would go and do indoor skydiving, go-karting, really fun activities. And it got to a point where I said, 'Why can't we get really good deals on these things and share them with everybody else?' So I went to a merchant and said, 'If I can get you 50 new customers, can we all get a group discount at different times?' He said sure."

So he built his first website, closed deals in between classes during his senior year at Suffolk University, landed a couple of investors to help scale the business, and now his discounts are reaching people in 352 communities across New England.

Jared is the founder of CoupMe, a website that offers a new deal every day through the power of group buying. Jared's team, which has grown from just him to an office of 13 in about a year, spends their days finding businesses that will offer 50% discounts or better as long as a minimum number of people agree to buy the coupon.

While CoupMe isn't the only website harnessing the power of collective buying to secure discounts, what sets it apart is the local touch. Rather than offering one deal to all of Massachusetts, CoupMe secures deals for each of five areas within Eastern & Central MA. (Tell your friends, they've expanded into the rest of the New England states as well!)

Of course, the element that first brought CoupMe to my attention is the occasional appearance of Kosher restaurants among the discounts. Cafe Eilat was featured in July, and Rubin's is coming up tomorrow (Friday, August 20)! How did these places end up among the offerings?

"I do eat Kosher, and I know a lot of the owners of the restaurants," he said. "They're all very, very nice and it's a close-knit community as well. I'm close with Chaim from Rami's -- they were my first kosher restaurant. He was a little hesitant, but when he saw the results -- over 150 people overnight - he was estatic about it!" One by one, the rest of the kosher restaurants have followed suit.

Of course, CoupMe's deals aren't limited to the world of food. While you'll need to visit CoupMe.com each day (or subscribe to their mailing list) to see what's being offered, Jared did give me a sneak-peak at what's coming up for Monday, and I think more than a few of our readers will be excited.

"This deal's special. Something nobody's ever had before," Jared told us. "Have you ever seen the movie Hitch? This guy is Boston's Date Doctor. He goes out with you and your date and helps you see what you're doing wrong, what you're doing right and tells you exactly what to say and how to say it. He helps you to be mature and fearless." And you'll be able to take advantage of his expertise for half price, thanks to Jared!