Many of you have emailed us over the past several weeks during your search for a mitzvah project. Some of the emails are in desperation, “I only have a month until her bat mitzvah”.  Other emails have been a little more matter-of-fact, “HELP!?”, in the subject line.  The mitzvah project search is not the easiest task on your ‘to do’ lists for bar/bat mitzvah planning, however, The Mitzvah Bowl staff is here to take the burden off of you.  Here are 5 steps to ease any undue stress:

1.  Check out our website, www.themitzvahbowl.com.  Did your child search our database, look at our ‘more ideas‘ page or read recent blog posts for inspiration?  If you find an organization which looks interesting, but is not in your area, do a Google search for a similar type of organization in your locale.  Our goal is to inspire bar/bat mitzvah students to find the perfect mitzvah project!

2.  Have a conversation about the following with your son or daughter:
Want to work with children or senior citizens?
What sounds interesting–support a cause which is connected to your family and friends or find a cause where you can create your own path?
Want to collect goods, work face-to-face with others, plan an event fundraiser or help at an existing event?
Do you want to help out a group which is already in existence or create your own version?
Initially pinpointing what type of volunteer opportunity your son/daughter would like, helps make the search much easier in the long-run.

3.  Consider time and distance.  When is your family’s weeknight or weekend schedule open so you may carve out this time for this child’s mitzvah project?  How far away is the organization he/she is helping?  Does this easily work?

4.  Track social media posts from #themitzvahbowl.  We blog, tweet and post on facebook constantly about newsworthy mitzvah projects throughout the country.  Here our goal is to inspire other kids to create a similar project in their community.
Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook, and Follow our Pinterest Boards!

5.  Email info@themitzvahbowl.com.  Send us a 2-sentence description of your son or daughter and what they enjoy doing in their spare time. Email us their bar/bat mitzvah date, synagogue, town and any mitzvah project requirements as noted by your local Rabbi. We will correspond with you until the perfect opportunity is found!

written by Cheryl Friedenberg, President, www.themitzvahbowl.com

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