For our bat mitzvah project, we are doing a school supply drive for homeless youth in San Diego. By collecting these supplies, we will be giving homeless kids the tools they desperately need to attend school. The County Office of Education Foster Youth and Homeless Services will later distribute these supplies throughout the greater San Diego area.

We have been working on this project since the middle of May and we will continue to set up bins and collection sites until the beginning of September. We chose our project by discussing what we all really wanted to do. We agreed on doing something that involved kids. All three of us know what it is like being a teenager these days and fitting in is very difficult and we don’t want homeless kids getting bullied just because they don’t have a home and are unable to get the school supplies they need. So we all decided to have a school supply drive for homeless kids K-12 that need help.

On our journey so far we have all learned so much such as facts and statistics that would surprise anyone. For example, there are about 20,000 homeless youth in the city of San Diego. This project has changed us in many ways. Our respect for homeless kids has gone up and we will all be doing mitzvot much more often now. We believe that bar/bat mitzvah students are asked to do a mitzvah project as a way to become an adult and assume responsibilities. This is a great task because it teaches us what issues there are in life and how to help them, which is a huge responsibility.

Anyone who reads this can help by donating school supplies or money for the people who can’t buy them themselves. These people can barely buy clothes, let alone school supplies. Any school supplies would really benefit the kids learning ability. WE ARE SEEKING DONATIONS OF: Binders, Colored Pencils, Flashcards, Pencils, Binder Dividers, Glue Sticks, Pencil Pouches, Compass, Binder Paper, Crayons, Graph Paper, Pocket Folders, Calculators, Erasers, Highlighter, Ink Pens, Rulers, Notebooks, School Scissors, Index Cards, Pencil Sharpeners, Washable Markers.

Our Mitzvah Project is co-sponsored by Beth Israel’s Social Action Committee. For more information contact Program Director Bonnie Graff at 858 535-1111, ext. 2597 or email bgraff@cbisd.org.

Supplies may be dropped in the bins at the front and back gates as well as the school and administrative offices. Please bring donations to Beth Israel’s Shabbabeque on September 5 too. Thank you!

Hope you can help!
Julia B., Olivia B., and Lauren R.