Hi, My name is Jara Levinson, I live on Long Island, NY and I will become a bat mitzvah on June 4th, 2022. Part of my responsibility in becoming a bat mitzvah is to choose a mitzvah project that is meaningful to me. Many of you already know that I have a passion for dance. I have danced since I’m 18 months old and couldn’t imagine anything more rewarding than to follow my passion for the last 12 years. But not everyone has the ability to pursue their passions due to limitations physically or mentally.

For my mitzvah project, I have chosen to raise money to support the Israel Sports Center for the Disabled, which is located in Ramat Gan, Israel, a town outside of Tel Aviv. The ISCD provides a safe place for children and adults with disabilities and gives them the ability to keep their dreams alive. The ISCD is a home away from home to around 2,500 Israelis of all ages, where the unique merits of sports are utilized to strengthen body, spirit, and mind. Sports activities contribute more to the confidence, morale, and self-image of those with disabilities than any other form of rehabilitation. Today, ISCD athletes participate in 18 different sports activities without discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, race, nationality, or ethnicity.

Dancing is most definitely a sport and those individuals with disabilities are sometimes unable to participate. The ISCD offers Israeli dancing as well as dance classes for adults with cerebral palsy with the assistance of wheelchairs, so their dancing passion can become a reality. The goal of my mitzvah project is to raise $3600 which the Center will use to purchase one new wheelchair for dancers. I hope you will help me in achieving my goal.

With love and thanks, Jara

For more information about American Friends of the Israel Sport Center for the Disabled, please visit their website at http://www.afiscd.org