As part of my bat mitzvah, I did a keishrei halev [or community service] project. I decided to help and raise money to build a Child Advocacy Center in our county.


This is a building that will house all the places an abused child will have to go- the police, social services, doctors and counselors- and in a way that won't be so scary or intimidating for the kids themselves. As it is now, they often have to go to many different places and tell their story to many different people.


As I'm sure you can imagine, this could be uncomfortable and scary. With the Child Advocacy Center, they will only have to tell their story once, and it won't be as scary. I think that's really important, and so does the rest of my family. My dad actually will work in the building when it is done and is in charge of the project through the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. Most of my job included picking an item to sell and selling them to raise money. I decided to sell lollipops and I sold them, in addition to selling to family and friends, in front of the Red Bank Foodtown on September 10th. We raised $450 at that visit alone. I plan to keep raising money this way and have another date set up at the Ocean Township Foodtown on November 11th. I also stuffed awareness envelopes and helped set up for a fundraising gala. It makes me feel good to help other kids from the area that aren't as fortunate as I am.