Bar / Bat Mitzvah Projects

Boys Town Jerusalem's new Bar/Bat Mitzvah Tribute Program lets you select a mitzvah project in Israel and enables you to create a web page in conjunction with your special day. Each page shares the story of a specific bar/bat mitzvah celebrant and the project they have selected, and provides the opportunity to make an online donation to Boys Town in their honor. It's a meaningful way to support the vital work Boys Town does in turning disadvantaged young boys from difficult circumstances into young men with limitless futures, and provides the opportunity to support Israel’s leaders of tomorrow.

By clicking on one of the links below, you can select your Mitzvah Project and create your own special web page. After naming your fund and providing basic information about it, you (the Honoree) can:

• Tell your story about the project you have selected and why you are choosing to support this cause.
• Upload a digital photo to be featured on the Mitzvah Project Page and personalize your page to reflect your own unique personality.
• Provide a personal/family donation as the Initial Gift to the Mitzvah Project.

After selecting and creating the Mitzvah Project, you can access the Mitzvah Center to personalize your Mitzvah Page, send email to your family and friends to ask them to visit your page, and more.

Mitzvah Projects - Select from the list below to Create Your Own Project or simply to learn more about it:

• Scholarships for disadvantaged Israeli children (over 35% of children live below the poverty line) and new immigrants from the former Soviet Union, France, Ethiopia and Iran. Your contribution will help provide safety and stability in their lives and enable them to benefit from a first class Jewish, secular and technological education.
  
  With nearly 75% of our students requiring some level of scholarship assistance for tuition and room and board, your support is critical to their ability to continue their studies at Boys Town. A gift of as little as $36 buys a boy’s meals for one week. $50 houses a student for one week. Scholarship costs range from $500-10,000 for a full year’s tuition, room and board for the College of Applied Sciences.
  
  
• Transportation for Boys Town students to their volunteer projects helping in nursing homes, hospitals, soup kitchens and other locations that serve the people in the City of Jerusalem.
  
  Despite their humble beginnings, all of the boys are committed to volunteering twelve hours per month, in addition to their intensive curriculum of secular and Judaic studies (many of them volunteer far more than the minimum required). Boys Town students are active volunteers throughout Jerusalem, working at places like Yad Sarah repairing and maintaining wheelchairs and other equipment for loan to the disabled, in two Jerusalem-based soup kitchens preparing, serving, and delivering food to the hungry, at Hadassah and Sha'are Zedek Hospitals where they entertain kids in the children's wards, and in numerous other charitable activities.
  
  Your support helps underwrite the costs of a van, gasoline and driver to take students to their volunteer assignments. These costs may range from $50 for a tank of gas up to $500 for the cost of transporting one student for a year and $1,000 for the annual maintenance of the vehicle.
  
  
• Musical instruments/instruction for kids that want to start their own student band but can’t afford instruments or lessons. Costs for instruments range from $100 for a guitar to $1,000 or more for an electronic keyboard and amplifiers. The average cost for an instrument is $350.
  
  
• Sports equipment (goals, nets, balls, etc.) for use during leisure time. Boys Town spends most of the money it raises on scholarships for needy students leaving little money to support intramural sports activities and participation in nationwide sports competitions. Despite these limitations, Boys Town students continue to excel in national track & field events, volleyball, basketball, martial arts and weightlifting. Gifts from as little as $18 can purchase balls and other equipment.
  
  
• Computers for Boys Town’s classrooms and dormitories. Technology is a major part of a Boys Town education and there is a great need for additional computers in classrooms and in the dorms for homework and use during the students’ leisure time. Computers cost approx. $1,000 per workstation.
  
  
• Tutoring for all students who need it, including those from the former Soviet Union and France to enable them to learn Hebrew, Jewish and Israeli history and customs, and strengthen other academic subjects, all designed to help prepare for high school matriculation (graduation) exams and future service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). A gift of as little as $30 pays for one hour of tutoring. $250 pays for one semester.
  
  
• Equip a student recreation center (Mo’a’don) in a dormitory. Each dorm on the Boys Town campus has a room where students can play board games, table tennis, video games and other fun activities. Help purchase these items with a gift of as little as $18 for board games up to $500 for the latest video gaming system.
  
  
• Purchase books/software for Boys Town’s state-of-the-art library. Your contributions can be earmarked for books, periodicals and computer programs in a variety of subjects. Cost for these items range from $25 to $100 for each title.
  
  
• Buy tefillin for a bar mitzvah boy. Every boy at Boys Town is presented with his own set of tefillin (approx. $500) upon becoming bar mitzvah.
  
  
• Sponsor a Bar Mitzvah Celebration or other simcha - For those BTJ students whose families may not be able to afford even a simple celebration, a gift of $36 provides a gift for a simcha celebrant. $100 underwrites transportation to the BTJ campus for family members and $500 sponsors a Bar Mitzvah or Brit Milah celebration.