Arizona Jewish Life wants to help bar and bat mitzvah students achieve their mitzvah project goals.
So we have added a “Mitzvah Project” button to our website. We want to hear from young people who need help getting signatures on petitions, raising funds for a charity, or collecting donations such as canned food or school supplies.
Please submit the youth’s name, b’nai mitzvah date and congregation, brief description of project and why s/he chose it and how to help. Also please send a photo of the bar or bat mitzvah youth (either a headshot or with something related to their project).
To have your project posted on our site, contact editor@azjewishlife.com.
The first project we featured on our website was David Machbitz’ quest to provide school supplies for kids in need. David was able to donate 152 backpacks with basic school supplies to JFCS of AZ for the 2015-16 start of the school year. He delivered them the week of July 19 so that students starting back early would have supplies should they need them.
The following is an excerpt of David’s post on our website:
David Machbitz wants to help kids succeed in school
David Machbitz comes from a family that not only believes in the value of education but also puts their time, energies and resources into ensuring that value.
His grandmother, Eve Tutnick, was a teacher and director at the Valley Jewish Day School, the original nondenominational Jewish day school in the Phoenix area from 1976-83. She was later in the education department at the Community College District. His mother, Lesley Tutnick-Machbitz recently completed her master’s degree and is on the theater and film faculty at Glendale Community College. David started eighth grade at Pardes Jewish Day School, and his sister Anya is in fifth grade there. His father Joseph Machbitz, who is a project manager, serves as a strong source of support as well.
When David started thinking about his bar mitzvah project, he knew right away he wanted to tie it into education. “Like most children in the United States, at the beginning of the school year my sister and I get long lists of school supplies that we need to bring to school,” explains David in a letter he sent out introducing his project. “It is a fun day of shopping picking out the items we need. However, over 16 million children nationwide begin school each year without the supplies needed to go to school. Studies show that students who do not begin the year with the needed supplies have lower self-esteem, fall far behind in school and are less likely to graduate high school.”
David and his mother determined what supplies would be most necessary and priced backpacks and contents. He contacted Jewish Family and Children’s Service, which has an annual “back-to-school backpack program” and joined forces with them. Working with Jessica Green at JFCS, David started his process of educating and asking.
“My mom and I keep looking for even better deals on the backpacks, and are hoping to supply way more than the 100 I originally set as a goal,” David says.
To help David reach out and help Valley school children in need:
• Make a tax deductible donation at jfcsaz.org/david-mitzvah.
• Send a check to Jewish Family and Children’s Services of Arizona at 4747 N Seventh St., Phoenix, AZ 85014. Write “David Machbitz-backpacks” on the check.
Though the cost per filled backpack is about $30, David reminds everyone that “No donation amount is too small!”
David will become a bar mitzvah at Congregation Or Tzion in Scottsdale on Oct. 17.
