B'NAI MITZVAH PROJECTS
Help our wonderful b'nai mitzvah students
complete their projects!
March 6, 2010 - Havdalah
JUSTIN WEISMAN
For my Mitzvah Project I chose to support ALS. Since Lou Gehrig, and his battle with the disease inspired me. I went door to door selling wristbands for my cause. http://www.alsa.org/
In addition to that, I also chose to support Pitch In for Baseball, this organization accepts donations of new or gently used baseball equipment, from bats to balls, to uniforms, to helmets etc. This equipment is used by the organization to enrich children’s lives in other countries by exposing them to the sport I love so much. This equipment will go to places like Puerto Rico, Panama, China, Columbia, Ecuador, Curacao, Nicaragua, Argentina, Haiti, the Philippines, and many more. http://www.pitchinforbaseball.org/html/
Justin is the son of Michael Weisman and Laurie Garland
February 13, 2010
ELLIE SCHERCK
“Project Night Night” donates over 25,000 Night Night Packages each year free of charge, to homeless children who need childhood essentials to feel secure, cozy, ready to learn, and significant. 
I collected stuffed animals, children’s books and made blankets with the help of my friends and family. We are putting blankets, books, and stuffed animals in “Project, Night Night’’ tote bags and taking them to a local women’s shelter. I felt that this mitzvah project was important to me because these children need to have a book to read, a stuffed animal to love and a blanket to stay warm.
Ellie is the daughter of Julie and Roger Scherck, Jr.
November 21 , 2009
CARLY OSCHEROW
Dear Family and Friends,
My love for animals, especially cats, made my Bat Mitzvah project an obvious choice. The Humane Society of Missouri is a non-profit organization. The local shelter is one of the few in the area that has a “no kill” policy. It is a shelter that houses cats, dogs, and smaller animals, too. It is staffed by a few paid employees and it is dependent on volunteers.
I have been fostering kittens for the Humane Society for about 5 months now and have loved every minute of it. Fostering kittens is when you keep 2 or 3 kittens at your house for about 2 weeks. We get them when they are about 6 weeks old, and we keep them until they are two pounds and until they are capable of being neutered and adopted. They do better in a home environment because they have more human attention and more room to play.
If you would like to make a difference in the lives of abandoned or neglected animals, please make checks payable to the “Humane Society of Missouri” or donate new or gently used items.
Please support my efforts in helping this very worthy organization. Thank you.
Carly
Carly is the daughter of Ruthellen Oscherow
October 24 , 2009
JACK LAVEY
For my mitzvah project I am raising money to help purchase new instruments for the Music Therapy Program at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Many of you know how important music is in my life. I play cello, saxophone, keyboards, violin and guitar. I love to sing and enjoy all types of music from Springsteen and Dylan to Broadway musicals. Even my name has a musical connection – my middle name, Redding, is in honor of the great Otis Redding. Music makes me happy and I want to bring that happiness to other kids.
With the help of my family, I found the Music Therapy Program. The program is new but is already touching the lives of so many kids. Unfortunately, the program is desperate for new instruments. Because of the delicate immune systems of the hospitalized children, instruments cannot be shared. I am working to raise money for the Music Therapy Program over the course of this year. If you’d like to share in helping these great kids, please consider making a donation along with me. More information is available
outside the sanctuary after the service.
"I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy." Rabindranath Tagore
Jack is the son of Jane Lavey
October 17 , 2009
KATE RUBIN
As a Bat Mitzvah, I am responsible for performing mitzvot: acts of honor, duty and kindness. I chose to help abused and neglected children through The Saint Louis
County Department of Social Services. The children range in age from infant to 18 years of age and often must leave their homes in the middle of the night with only the clothes on their backs. To make these circumstances a bit less traumatic, I put together bags for the children including essentials such as toiletries, undergarments, sock
s, and t-shirts as well as school supplies and some fun things for entertainment.I made 36 different bags for boys and girls, children and teens. The number 36 is not only a multiple of ch’ai (the Hebrew symbol for Life), but is also equal to the approximate number of children rescued in a two month period by The Saint Louis County Department of Social Services. This experience made me even more grateful for my own well-being as well as making me proud to perform tikkun olam, the repairing of the world.
Kate is the daughter of Jane and Jim Rubin
October 17 , 2009 - HAVDALAH
Over 20 million televisions and 47 million computers are discarded yearly. Most of these end up in landfills. This e-waste, which also includes phones, printers, DVD players, and much more, contains toxic materials. Lead, mercury and arsenic are just a few of the chemicals that leach from electronic equipment into the water, soil and air. These toxins can harm our health and the environment. The dangers of lead are well known, and 40 percent of the lead in US landfills comes from electronics.
There is something you can do about this. Save your electronic items and bring them to the CRC Electronics Recycling Event on September 13. E-waste collected at this event will be fixed and put back into the community for educational use, or disposed of properly. This event is being organized by Jake Tarr, who will celebrate his bar mitzvah on October 17.
Electronics Recycling Event
Sunday, September 13, 1-5 pm at CRC
Web Innovations & Technology Services (WITS) will collect electronics. They will recycle/refurbish electronics/computers by fixing or replacing what may be broken and put them back into the community for educational use.
Please bring computers, monitors, printers, cables and peripherals (keyboards, mice, etc.)
Networking equipment, server, home phones, cell phone
Televisions, VCR’s, DVD players, stereos, satellite boxes
Typewriters, calculators, cameras, camcorders
Home electronics, blenders, toasters, irons, washers, dryers, dishwashers
Lawn equipment, tools, mowers,
tillers, etc.
VHS, DVD, Cassette, CD, and all types of data tapes; computer software
Car and lead-containing batteries and items.
Most other electronic devices are taken. A complete list can be found at www.witsinc.org. No paints, tires, chemicals or furniture.
Recycling Fees: Monitors, LCD, and laptops = $5; TV’s = $10-$20 depending on size; appliances microwave size and larger or items with freon = $5. All Donations are tax deductible. Fees cover appropriate recycling of potentially hazardous materials in some items.
Jake is the son of Diane Friedman and Phillip Tarr
October 3, 2009 - HAVDALAH
JUSTIN GELLMAN
Justin’s served as a baseball buddy for Challenger baseball, a league for children with disabilities.
Justin also volunteered some of his time with KEEN St. Louis, a local organization that provides one-to-one recreational opportunities for children and youth with developmental and physical disabilities at no cost to their families and caregivers.
In addition, Justin and four of his other friends who have bar mitzvahs in the coming year, put together a fundraiser for Lift of Life Gym, a facility that serves hundreds of children ages 8 to 18 in the inner city. To learn more about his project and to see a video he and his friends made about their project, go to http://www.artisticsensations.com/content/charity.html. He and his friends are also participating in a meal program that provides a hot meal to the kids once a month by going to the facility, preparing and cooking the meal for about 60 kids. Also in honor of his bar mitzvah, Justin will contribute a portion of his monetary gifts to Lift for Life.
Justin is the son of Jeffrey and Kim Gellman
October 3, 2009 
KELLIN HENTOFF-KILLIAN
My mitzvah project is Peace Through Pyramids, an ongoing collaboration between the St. Louis Arches and the Galilee Circus. The St. Louis Arches are a youth circus troupe made up of children from different backgrounds and neighborhoods in the St. Louis area. The Galilee Circus is a Jewish/Arab youth circus from Israel. Together they present collaborative circus performances in Israel and in America. The reason I am supporting this project is because it shows that if people focus on their similarities instead of their differences the world can be a better place. I have been a part of this project and I feel that it shows the world that social change is possible.
Donations can be made to:
Circus Harmony,
4120 Parker Rd. ,
Florissant, MO. 63033
Kellin Quinn Hentoff-Killian
Kellin is the son of Jessica Hentoff and Michael Killian
