J. Helperin
December 2011
Joshua Helperin
Joshua is a 13 year old student in the 8th grade at the Maimonides Academy. He lives in Los Angeles, CA with his family. In September 2011 Joshua celebrated his becoming his Bar Mitzvah along with his friends and family. For his Bar Mitzvah project, Joshua (with the help of Areyvut) coordinated a mitzvah fair to take place at his party during the cocktail hour. He had a variety of chesed and ritual projects for children and adults to take part in.
Joshua Helperin
Joshua is a 13 year old student in the 8th grade at the Maimonides Academy. He lives in Los Angeles, CA with his family. In September 2011 Joshua celebrated his becoming his Bar Mitzvah along with his friends and family. For his Bar Mitzvah project, Joshua (with the help of Areyvut) coordinated a mitzvah fair to take place at his party during the cocktail hour. He had a variety of chesed and ritual projects for children and adults to take part in.
Guests at Joshua's Bar Mitzvah had the opportunity to:
* Make Havdalah candles for needy families (JFS of LA/SOVA)
* Decorate pillowcases and write letters of encouragement for sick children (Chai Lifeline)
* Decorate and fill backpacks for underprivileged kids in Israel (Emunah)
* Learn the basics of Torah Calligraphy with quill and ink on parchment (Rabbi Shimon Kraft)
* Write letters of thanks and support to Israel soldiers (Am Segula)
* Learn how to tie tzitzit (YULA student Yonah Hiller)
* Create an original song for a young girl with cancer (songwriter and attorney Shep Rosenman)
* Write letters of appreciation to parents (educator Lolly Seidenfeld)
About 70 students participated in this hour long program. Dozens of items were produced for charitable organizations to take back with them. Leftover supplies were donated to Joshua's school to enable even more students to create chesed projects for worthy causes. Joshua's mom wrote a wonderful article about the event which was featured in the Low Angeles Jewish Journal.
At a Glance
 Joshua Helperin
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Age: 13
School: Maimonides Academy
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA Year of mitzvah project: 2011
Mitzvah project: Had a mitzvah fair as part of his Bar Mizvah celebration where his guests could participate in a vareity of chesed or ritual projects
Favorite Movie: Hoodwinked Too! Favorite food: Pizza Favorite singer/musical group: Green Day
Best thing about giving back to the community: "That you're helping people and doing mitzvahs." Three things to bring with you to a deserted island: Food, phone, TV
Role model: His dad
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