My name is Carter Sussman and I am a 7th grade student at Sandy Run Middle School, Upper Dublin, PA.

For my Bar Mitzvah Project I have been working with an organization called Fresh Artists, a non-profit dedicated to bringing art supplies into schools which are impoverished and lacking supplies.  I collected art from every grade level — Kindergarten through 12th grade from three Upper Dublin Schools. I also acquired art from family members, my mother’s work friends and from children across the country.

The collection of artwork was displayed for a week at Nave Frozen Yogurt, Maple Glen, PA. On the day of my fundraising event, the childrens’ art was available for donations. The community was invited to Nave. The visitors donated money to Fresh Artists and took home a piece of art. They also were able to buy raffle tickets for great gifts.  In addition, Nave Frozen Yogurt generously donated a portion of their own yogurt proceeds to Fresh Artists.

My event at Nave, in combination with online fundraising, brought me a total of $1500 in donations. Fresh Artists plans to use 100% of the money I collected to purchase art supplies at 40% off , which translates into $2500 worth of art supplies! This coming January, I plan to take all of the art supplies to Stearne Elementary School in North Philadelphia to give to the students along with the staff of Fresh Artists. Fresh Artists has been in contact with the administration and the art teacher so they know exactly which products to buy for the school. I am so excited to be able to bring art back into this community and I cannot wait to meet the kids and see their excitement when we deliver the supplies! Thank you Nave for hosting my event and supporting my efforts to help these students and support the arts!

Submitted by Carter Sussman to Themitzvahbowl.com