Spotlight on our Bat Mitzvah Girls
Liora Seligmann
The WIZO Twinning Program was Liora’s choice to which she contributed part of her Bat Mitzvah money. Having seen her mum’s involvement in WIZO, from a young age, and by being a member of WIZO Kids, Liora understood the concept of how important Tzedakah is.
By her contributing to this important program, she knows that by enabling a disadvantaged Israeli young woman, to have the opportunity to celebrate her Bat Mitzvah, made Liora and her family very proud.
Bianca Aldouby
Bianca, the youngest of three girls, attends Mount Scopus Memorial College.
In her spare time she loves to dance and help make a difference to others less fortunate.
During the Central Shule Bat Mitzvah Program, Bianca learned about the WIZO Bar/Bat Mitzvah Project. Their teacher asked each girl to raise $16 independently so that they could share this mitzvah with a young girl in Israel.
Bianca independently raised over $500 by baking cookies and selling them to her family and friends. This also allowed her to share information about the program and how wonderful it was to be involved.
Bianca made mention of the program in her Dvar Torah expressing how much she enjoyed raising these funds for others.
When choosing to celebrate her Bat Mitzvah party, Bianca wanted to further contribute to this amazing program so requested donations instead of gifts.
Bianca has gained great pleasure in knowing she has assisted other young girls to experience this special milestone in Israel.
Tiferet Van der Plaat
Tiferet is number four out of five children and attends Beth Rivkah Ladies College. She is very active in Hineni, attending weekly meetings as well as going on camps.
Tiferet has grown up in an environment where volunteering is commonplace. Tiferet’s father is a volunteer with Hatzolah and her mother is involved with WIZO. Tiferet has always volunteered where she could, including at her school after school hours and at her Shule in preparation for Chaggim or Kiddushim.
The WIZO Twinning program was of interest to Tiferet and she was glad she could finally donate towards it. Tiferet felt very proud that she could help a girl like herself have a Bat Mitzvah party, receive candle sticks and go on a trip to the Kotel. Tiferet choose to receive her certificate at her own Bat Mitzvah party so that all her classmates could hear about the Twinning program.
Tiferet looks forward to volunteering for WIZO in the future.
Dalia Miller
Dalia celebrated her Bat Mitzvah with a moving ceremony on the summit of Masada in April 2017.
This was followed by a party in Melbourne on 11 June 2017 where she celebrated with family and friends.
Given how fortunate she is in terms of her family, schooling and lifestyle, Dalia was committed to forgoing gifts and donate to those less fortunate. She chose WIZO, and particularly the renovation of the toddler and kinder rooms of a day care centre, as she felt this would be a meaningful contribution and have maximum impact.
Chloe Fisher and Chloe Lyons
Chloe and Chloe are close friends and part of the Moriah College Bat Mitzvah Group for 2014. They joined together for their WIZO Tzedakah Bat Mitzvah project to raise some much needed funds for those Bar/Bat Mitzvah children in Israel who are less fortunate than them.
The girls decided to sell the Monday Morning Cook Book ‘The Feast Goes On’ to family and friends. They texted, emailed and spread the word to as many friends and family as possible. The replies were immediate and they were overwhelmed by all the support and positive responses they received. They offered gift wrapping for the books to give as Pesach gifts and free delivery. Many weekends were spent with their generous mums, delivering books and taking payments. Jokingly referred to as the Sunday Morning Delivery Club, the girls quickly became familiar in the Eastern Suburbs. Proudly wearing their WIZO T Shirts, they knocked on doors offering books to anyone who had not yet bought one.
The girls were inspired to sell, wrap and deliver as many books as possible and ended up selling over 90 books to the wider community!
Chloe Fisher was excited when she was given the opportunity to participate in the WIZO Bat mitzvah Tzedakah Programme as she will be celebrating her Bat mitzvah in December 2014. Chloe felt that WIZO and the MMCB book both represent a combination of family values, Jewish traditions and learning from past generations. She looks forward to visiting Israel in early January 2015 to complete her Bat Mitzvah year experience and displays a generous heart and a passion for helping others.,
Chloe Lyons’ Batmizvah is coming up in October 2014 and she was delighted to take part in this project as Israel has a special place in her heart. Her grandmother is Israeli and all Chloe’s mum’s family live there. Chloe went to Israel two years ago for the first time and attended two Bat Mitzvah’s which was an unforgettable experience for her.
Both girls have shown what can be done through determination, dedication and passion and they hope that the funds raised will help girls their age who couldn’t afford to have a Bat Mitzvah be able to have one, enabling them to embark on the same spiritual journey they are in the process of undertaking.
Natalie Freed
Natalie donated money on the occasion of her Batmitzvah- Natalie’s grandmother Maya Hirsch is a loyal WIZO supporter and of course her other grandmother Myrna Freed is a Past President of WIZO Queensland.