MAZAL TOV!

You’re quickly approaching a major milestone in your Jewish life.  The Jewish Federation of Lehigh Valley is here to help put the MITZVAH back in your Bar/Bat Mitzvah.  The GIVE A MITZVAH, DO A MITZVAH program can help to start your Jewish adulthood off on the right foot. Tell us what you’re passionate about and we’ll tell you how you can make a difference.

The possibilities are endless. Meet with the JFLV “mitzvah-coordinator” to talk about your interests and brainstorm how you can truly make a difference in our local communities, in Israel and the rest of the world!

Here are just a few ideas for mitzvah projects:

ASPIRING MOVIEMAKER?
Make a documentary – Interview local Holocaust survivors or locals with historical knowledge of the Lehigh Valley.  Put it up on YouTube and we’ll link it to the JFLV website and share it with local Jewish agencies.

COOL WITH COOKING?
Bake & decorate cupcakes with residents at the Ronald McDonald house and donate to Hazon Yeshaya Soup Kitchens in Israel.

LOVE HORSES?
Volunteer for the therapeutic riding program at Manito Equestrian Center in Allentown and sponsor classes for a child with special needs at one of the therapeutic riding centers in Israel.

DEVOTED TO DANCE?
Set up a scholarship for a local dance school and collect dance shoes for dance students in the FSU

CRAZY ABOUT SPORTS?
Provide underprivileged teens with an opportunity to attend an Iron Pigs game and collect sports equipment for a community center for underprivileged youth in Israel.

ATTENTION
MOMS & DADS:

GIVE A MITZVAH, DO A MITZVAH is an initiative of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley that was created to offer young adults a resource for mitzvah projects and tzedakah opportunities for their B’nai Mitzvah year and beyond.  Your child may choose to donate to the Jewish Federation of Lehigh Valley Annual Campaign and/or to develop a hands-on social action project.

The JFLV is here to guide your child through the process of creating a social action project. With a little help from the JFLV, the possibilities for a mitzvah project are as endless as your son’s or daughter’s creativity.

Bring them in to meet with our “mitzvah coordinator” at the JFLV office.  We start with hobbies, interests – whatever they are passionate about. And then together, we’ll brainstorm ways to truly make a difference.

I am the proud parent of our very first GIVE A MITZVAH, DO A MITZVAH participant from the Lehigh Valley, Zach Zager. He collected and donated sports equipment to The Caring Place here in the Lehigh Valley, to the Neve Ya’akov Community Center in Jerusalem and K’far Menachem in our partner community, Yoav.  Participants in our family mission to Israel this summer brought Zach’s donation to the community center. By providing these places with sports equipment, Zach brought happiness and fun into the lives of other teens and kids.

Rachel Gevirtz and Molly Diamondstein teamed up for their mitzvah project – they asked community members to sponsor their participation in the Stepping Out to Cure Scleroderma walk. The girls raised more than $2,000 and brought more than 50 people together to walk for a cure. In addition, both girls will contribute a portion of their bat mitzvah gifts to the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley’s Annual Campaign for Jewish Needs.

CLICK HERE
to read all the mitzvah projects available