At Temple Beth Sholom in Salem, two students who became b’nai mitzvah in August followed their passions to meaningful mitzvah projects. For his bar mitzvah project, Parker Mills worked to raise awareness about and money for Yismehu, a Salem-based nonprofit organization founded by TBS member Joan Myles that provides free Jewish learning to blind and print- challenged students nationwide. Yismehu expands learning opportunities in Jewish practice and culture, by enabling direct access to Jewish texts for the visually impaired and by developing the personal skills needed to participate fully in Jewish liturgy and community life. Parker learned what it’s like to be blind, made recordings and helped create Hebrew Braille texts. yismehu.org
For her mitzvah project, Laci Boga raised funds, goods and awareness on behalf of Salem Friends of Felines. In addition to collecting cat food and supplies, Laci volunteered for SFOF all summer. SFOF is a limited-admissions, no-kill rescue that believes in helping every kitty they can, by ensuring it will not reproduce an unwanted litter of kittens and by helping those that are abandoned, unwanted and homeless find a loving forever family home. SalemFriendsOfFelines.org | LacisMitzvah.info
