If your Bar Bat Mitzvah child is home for the summer, this is a perfect time for them to work on their Mitzvah Project, or move their existing project to a virtual format.
Many Mitzvah projects can easily be started (and completed) from the safety and comfort of your home. Food shopping for the elderly, donating books to an under-served community and hosting virtual fundraisers are just a few of the causes young tweens can do with minimal help from an adult.
See below for Mitzvah Market’s Favorite Virtual Mitzvah Project Ideas and Organizations:
Projects Related to COVID-19
Perhaps the easiest Mitzvah Project to implement right now is to send letters to vulnerable members of your community who may be at stuck at home due to the Coronavirus pandemic — or to local healthcare workers who are on the front lines.
Contact local nursing or rehabilitation centers or hospitals to find out who has the greatest need. Enlist friends and family members to join your letter writing campaign with posts on your social media
OperationGetWell.com was started by Paula Rosenthal in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as a free get well card campaign. Paula created the site to send messages of hope and care to hospitalized patients in New York who have been unable to receive visitors. It has grown to become an international effort with hundreds of participants who have helped to distribute thousands of get well messages
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's
Words of Encouragement initiative sends virtual thank you's to the NYC hospital's healthcare workers
Ideas from The Mitzvah Bowl
The Mitzvah Bowl is a terrific online resource for meaningful Mitzvah projects. Here are some of their ideas:
The African Library Project has several online initiatives that can be completed from home. The One Box program sends containers of gently used books to children around the world. The organization has also partnered with HomeFirst in the San Francisco Bay Area to donate reusable face masks to the homeless community during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Food Shop for the Elderly- A Bar Bat Mitzvah student (along with their parent) can shop for an elderly neighbor and deliver groceries to their door step.
Plant a Giving Garden- Traditionally food banks rely on canned goods, but with many Americans losing their jobs, some food banks are expanding to include fresh fruits and vegetables. Grow a garden in your backyard and donate the excess crop to a local food bank who will take fresh produce!
Mask fundraiser: Buy masks at a wholesale price or DIY them and sell them to friends and family online-- the proceeds can go towards the Covid-19 charity of your choice.
Online Trivia Fundraiser: Use a trivia website and invite your friends/family for a one night or weekly event. Ask for a donation which will go to the cause of your choice.
Podcasts for a Cause- If your Bar Bat Mitzvah child feels strongly about a cause or organization, is an expert on a particular subject matter, or just likes to talk a lot, have them put together a series of podcasts to share on social media. Before getting started, order a podcast microphone on Amazon and look into the various hosting sites. Buzzsprout, Podbean, and Simplecast are good starter platforms with free trials or low monthly fees.
Motivate someone else by running with
Back on My Feet, which combats homelessness through the power of running, community support and essential employment and housing resources.
Support a local Diaper Bank with Diaper Donations: 1 in 3 American families reports experiencing diaper need. Click
here to learn how to host a diaper drive
Where to Donate Your Mitzvah Project Proceeds
Lev LaLev (Heart-to-Heart) is a girls' orphanage in Netanya, Israel. The organization will work with you to create a personalized Mitzvah project to benefit their at risk residents. Learn more
here
If you're looking for an organization to donate your Mitzvah Project proceeds, check out
Celebrations In Israel's suggestion:
The Holland Center in Jaffa, Israel is a day treatment program and medical clinic for children with autism. They presently need funding to purchase pediatric walkers for their patients
Bar Bat Mitzvah Twinning Program
Yad Vashem twins the Bar Mitzvah child with a child who had something in common – a birthday, a name, a country. In these days when flying to Israel is not an option, the child receives all the relevant information on their “twin” and a special certificate, acknowledging participation in the twinning program
For more Mitzvah Project ideas visit our library of stories here.
To get ideas about Mitzvah Projects in your area, join one of Mitzvah Market’s 17 regional Facebook groups here.
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