Archive for September, 2009
September 25th, 2009
Spell It Out
The name of the Mitzvah game is personalization and that’s what AlphabetPIX is all about. This interactive Website lets you design your own artwork by entering the word you want to spell and then choosing the architecture-inspired letters (cool sepia photographs) to spell your word. You can design a framed creation with up to 13 letters, and you can choose from an array of frames and matting styles. Prices start at $19.99. We think this makes a great gift! Spell a first name, surname or an inspirational word like “dream.” Added bonus: the Website is very easy to use!
REWARD: Order an AlphabetPix work of art and receive $10 off. Use the promo code FREE10 during checkout.
September 24th, 2009
Bar Mitzvah Bouncer, Inc. = Peace Of Mind!
The Bar Mitzvah Bouncer is a professional chaperone service. They want you to enjoy the party and not worry about the kids. They supervise the children with care and fun.
If a bus ride is needed to the party, the Bar Mitzvah Bouncer rides on the bus with the kids.
They provide a safe environment; the dynamic, trained staff watch the children to ensure a fun time for all. They are committed to making sure all enjoy the party and are included in the activities.
September 19th, 2009
Even though it’s cold outside, some of us are thinking about summer – summer camp, anyway. If you’re starting to look for a summer camp for your child, and are feeling a little overwhelmed by the process, do not worry. There is good news; there is help.
Camp Connection is a free service that helps match kids with sleepaway camps that fit their needs and personalities. Referring to themselves as “Your Sleepaway Camp Matchmaker,” Camp Connection specializes in learning about your kids and then making suggestions on what sleepaway camps they would most enjoy. The team behind Camp Connection has been offering this help for more than 20 years. And did we mention that it’s FREE?
In addition to acting as Sleepaway Camp Matchmaker, the Camp Connection staff runs an affiliate program called Teen Connection. Owners Norm and Laurel Barrie say, “Our Mitzvah is having the skills and expertise to make appropriate recommendations to families.” This service helps match teens with summer programs including travel, community service, language immersion and outdoor adventure. Just what we love – summer Mitzvah Projects.
September 16th, 2009
Sydney Epstein of Woodmere, NY, feels the importance of planning a Mitzvah Project is to show that you are mature and ready for life’s responsibilities. We think her very successful and well thought-out Mitzvah Project supporting Pancakes for Parkinson’s showed a lot of maturity, and we appreciate her letting us share her story with you.
Sydney chose to organize a Pancakes for Parkinson’s event this past October to support the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which works to find a cure for Parkinson’s Disease. Sydney chose this organization because her grandfather suffers from PD. The Pancakes for Parkinson’s event is designed to be a one-day event where people buy tickets to a pancake breakfast with all proceeds benefiting the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Sydney let people know about the event by including a note along with her Bat Mitzvah invitation, which was held November 1st. She also posted flyers in local stores and sent emails.
Sydney held the event at a local firehouse, which she said was a well-known and central location. She reached out to local stores and asked them to donate supplies such as pancake mix, syrup, fruit and paper products. Sydney also took the initiative and asked local stores to donate raffle prizes, and she said on the day of the event, they were able to conduct a very successful raffle which also helped to raise money for Pancakes for Parkinson’s.
The event was successful in raising money – more than $10,000 – but more importantly, it helped Sydney realize what happens when a community pulls together. “Overall it was a great success for me personally and it was a great community event,” she says. “People showed our family a lot of support. I was very proud of the day.”
A group shot from Sydney’s event
September 16th, 2009
Allison Grey of Woodbury, NY, created a Mitzvah Project that benefited the Ronald McDonald House. However, our guess is that her Project benefited a lot more than the recipients; we are sure all of those who pitched in and helped Allison were blessed as well. Here’s Allison’s story, in her own words:
My Mitzvah Project was decorating flip flops to donate to the Ronald McDonald House to use as a part of their welcome gifts. They give the welcome gifts to the families that stay at the Ronald McDonald House when their children are in the hospital. I chose to do this Project because I love to do arts and crafts. I chose to send them to the Ronald McDonald House because I like to help children’s charities. I called my project Flip Flops for Friends.
I decorated the flip flops by tying colorful strips of felt on to the flip flops. After buying sheets of a variety of festive felt, we cut them into strips. I was fortunate to have a lot of my friends help me decorate the flip flops. All of my friends helped me reach my goal of decorating 200 pairs. When we finished tying the felt we packaged each pair in cellophane bags and a ribbon. We put on labels that said Flip Flops for Friends that had a picture of flip flops on them. I worked on my Project for 11 months.
I received help from my friends from Hebrew School, pre-school, school, camp, and also family members. Last year, for three days during indoor recess, 40 people in my grade helped decorate flip flops. We made over 60 pairs. It was a great project to do at recess because it was fun, and we were helping people at the same time. It is very special that I have had friends from all over the country help me with my Project.
On November 20, 2008, I went to the Ronald McDonald House to deliver my flip flops. When I arrived the workers were so happy about my Project and were very excited to give them to the families. They told me that they would put the flip flops in the families’ holiday gift bags. I received a tour of the Ronald McDonald House. It made me feel very good to know that I was helping these people.
September 16th, 2009
Rachel Abramowitz of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., organized a bike ride called Kids Ride 4 Cancer for her Mitzvah Project. Children and adults of all ages were encouraged to ride 2, 5 or 10 miles. There was a registration fee and riders were welcome to collect donations in support of their ride.
Rachel’s Bat Mitzvah was in June of 2007, and the first Ride was held in May of 2007. The Ride was so successful, Rachel continued her Mitzvah by holding Kids Ride 4 Cancer in 2008 as well. Here is a description of Rachel’s Project in her own words:
For my Mitzvah Project, I created a bike ride called Kids Ride 4 Cancer. All of the money that was collected went to help fight cancer through the American Cancer Society’s Bike-A-thon (which is held annually in Philadelphia). For the past several years, my parents and I have participated in the ACS Bike-A-Thon. We love to be a part of such a great experience because it’s fun, great exercise and you feel good about helping people.
I believe that people of all ages should be able to ride, even if they are not experienced riders. That is why I created Kids Ride 4 Cancer. This is an example of “gemilut chasadim,” performing an act of loving kindness. I was able to do this by raising money for cancer, or helping the sick.
Kids Ride 4 Cancer was a huge success!
I put a lot of my time and energy into making this ride great. My parents and I went to local supermarkets and other convenience stores and got a lot of food and drink donations. We printed up flyers and distributed them to my friends and family. We posted signs marking the course, and enlisted great volunteers to help at the rest stops. My ride was a huge success. We had an attendance of about 120 bikers, walkers, rollerbladers, and even a dog! In the end, we raised about $8,000! All of our efforts definitely made a difference!
September 16th, 2009
Today’s Mitzvah Project Profile is about a cause close to the hearts of many, including big-name celebrities like George Clooney and NBC TODAY’s Ann Curry. The cause is Darfur.
Shelby Evans from Plano, Texas, decided to take some of her Bat Mitzvah gifts and buy stoves for homes in Darfur through the organization Save Darfur. Here are some of Shelby’s thoughts on what a Mitzvah Project should be and why she chose to help people in Darfur:
In my mind there is no such thing as a Mitzvah Project, you should already have interests in helping people. Mitzvah Projects are just a way to spread the word of what you’re doing and hopefully make others more keen to be involved.
Darfur is a place in Africa where a great deal of genocide and mass murder takes place. Millions have been killed, and the government is causing it. I’d like to see good wishes sent to places like Darfur and the unfortunate who need help. I care about it because I believe everyone should have the option to at least help themselves, and they don’t even have that. I want people to take action and spread the knowledge, even possibly making it more of a grateful nation.
Shelby’s mom even kept a blog about her daughter’s Bat Mitzvah and all Shelby’s done for Darfur. Shelby tells MM that she recently started a club called, “World Epiphany” which helps make people aware of situations like that in Darfur.
Shelby is another example of one Kid making a difference! Thanks for sharing your Mitzvah Project with us, Shelby.
September 16th, 2009
Unlike some Mitzvah Kids, Eric Pass of Fair Lawn, NJ, was not actually required to do a Project for his Bar Mitzvah. However, as Eric tells us, he wanted to anyway. Almost five years after his Bar Mitzvah, he is still working on the Project he voluntarily designed! Here’s what Eric shares with MM:
I wasn’t required to start a charity project for my Bar Mitzvah. However, I wanted to help those in need. Since I always wore hats, I decided to collect baseball caps to donate to children battling cancer. I chose 1,800 as my initial goal, as eighteen signifies “Chai,” or life, in Hebrew.
At first, obtaining caps was not an easy task. I emailed and sent out letters to companies and organizations, including professional sports teams, popular businesses, and local temples. I set up a donation box at both the Fair Lawn Jewish Center and Thomas Jefferson Middle School, where many people from town would drop off new caps.
Due to the tremendous outpouring for “Caps for Caring,” I continued to run this project through the beginning of my high school years. I collected and donated almost 5,000 hats to a diverse assortment of non-profit groups. Those groups include Hadassah Hospital (Israel), Chai Lifeline Foundation (New York), Valley Hospital (Ridgewood, NJ), The Tomorrow’s Children Institute at the Hackensack University Medical Center and Victims of the Hurricane Katrina Tragedy.
Eric tells us he will be collecting caps through September, when he will be going off to college. If you would like more information about Caps for Caring, email us at mitzvahmail@gmail.com and we will pass along the information to Eric!
Eric Pass at age 17
Thank you, Eric! You are really making a difference!
September 16th, 2009
Joshua of Bridgewater, NJ, recently had his Bar Mitzvah in April of this year. As part of his rite of passage, Joshua organized a Mitzvah Project to clean up the waterways near his home.
“I love the ocean and have an interest in marine biology,” Joshua tells Mitzvah Mail. “This Project was a way for me to get involved in the community and to help people and marine life.”
Joshua hooked up with Clean Ocean Action, based in Sandy Hook, NJ, and the South Branch Watershed Association, based in Flemington, NJ, to do his part in trying to make a difference in the cleanliness of the water.
“My mom went online and checked where we could help clean up the ocean,” Joshua explains as far as how he got his Project organized. “We started by going to Sandy Hook, NJ. They have a beach sweep twice a year in April and October. It is a lot of fun; they get hundreds of people who help. We found hundreds of cigarette butts and lots of bottle caps. We logged everything that we found. The same is done when we cleaned the river, except at the river we found furniture, appliances and plywood. I find it very sad that people do not care about the water that we swim in or where we catch fish.”
Joshua plans on continuing to participate in beach sweeps and stream clean-ups even now that his Mitzvah Project has officially come to an end.
In a time when there is a lot of talk about being “green” and caring about the environment around us, we at Mitzvah Mail, applaud Joshua for actually getting out there and doing something active about it! Thank you Joshua! You are truly making a difference!
September 15th, 2009
Sarah Greiff’s cousin Andie recently battled cancer and was treated at New York’s Sloane Kettering Hospital. As part of Sarah’s Mitzvah Project (her Bat Mitzvah will be later this year in October), Sarah decided to give back to the hospital as a sign of her appreciation for caring for her cousin. Sarah is collecting supplies and items for the Child Life Program at Sloane Kettering. These are things that the children can use during their treatment throughout the year. She and Andie will visit the hospital together and make this wonderful donation. Please read on to learn more about her Project and how you can help.
“My cousin Andie, who is 8 years old, was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma last August,” Sarah explains. “Seeing what she went through made me realize how difficult cancer and being treated for cancer can be and made me want to help anyone going through that. The Child Life Program at the hospital put a smile on Andie’s face and cheered up other patients like Andie. The Program provides games, books, crafts and activities for young patients to do/use while waiting for treatment or even while getting chemotherapy, which can take hours and hours. The Program also provides gifts to children at the hosptial on their birthdays and on holidays.”
Sarah is collecting items that Sloane Kettering has requested (see full-list here) and plans to visit the hospital with her cousin Andie on June 15th; they will take along whatever items they are able to collect. Sarah’s contact info is here. She is asking our MM readers to help make this collection a huge success.
We want to thank Sarah for sharing her Mitzvah Project with us. Sarah, your Project is for a great cause and once again, we thank you for showing us how one kid can truly make a difference!
