Alexa Smith is holding a Dance-athon to benefit Ethiopian kids at the Neve Eliyahu Community Center in Rishon Letzion, Israel.
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Alexa’s brother, Dan, with Ethiopian children during his volunteer service at the Neve Eliyahu Community Center
September 2, 2009
Name: Alexa Smith
Age: 12
Town: Livingston
School and grade: Seventh grade, Heritage Middle School, Livingston
Parents: Sheri Goldberg and Michael Smith
Bat mitzva: Jan. 30, 2010, Temple Emanu-El of West Essex, Livingston
What: Dance-athon for middle-school students
When: Thursday, Sept. 17, 7-9 p.m.
Where: Temple Emanu-El
Why: To help underprivileged Ethiopian children in Rishon Letzion, Israel
Goal: To raise at least $2,200 for the Neve Eliyahu Integrated Nursery School Subsidy Program to send Ethiopian children to school and summer camp.
Inspiration: “My brother, Dan, volunteered at the Neve Eliyahu Community Center in Rishon Letzion for the last two summers as part of the Diller Teen Fellows and Diller Next Phase programs. Rishon Letzion is a sister city of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ. The center has a nursery school and summer camp, fitness center, pool, library, soup kitchen, and programs for the disabled.
“Dan told me about his Ethiopian campers and showed me photos of them at the center. Because of the economic downturn, government subsidies for the kids no longer exist. When I offered to do a collection, the center said they really needed scholarships so the kids could go to nursery school and that my dance-athon would be the first mitzva project to sponsor the kids. My family has also hosted Israeli teens from Rishon Letzion, and I want to go to Israel to visit the Neve Eliyahu Community Center and see the nursery school and students.
“Although my bat mitzva is not until January, I am holding this Dance-athon now so that as many children can attend nursery school as possible.”
Thanks to: “I want to thank Temple Emanu-El for donating the space, Unique Musique for discounting its deejay services, Peter Engel for printing the invitations, and the middle-school students at Temple Emanu-El and my friends for getting sponsors and coming to my Dance-athon. Hopefully other people will learn about the need to help the Neve Eliyahu kids and continue other mitzva projects to benefit them.”
Suggested donation: Minimum $18 a person
Prizes: Tickets to Mets games and a Bruce Springsteen concert
How you can help: To sponsor a dancer, make a check payable to UJC MetroWest-Neve Eliyahu Community Center and bring it to the Dance-athon.
Information: Contact soccerlex130@gmail.com or 973-716-9350
Reader Discussion
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ellen kurtz
October 01, 2009
I too have volunteered through MetroWest at the “Matnas” (Community Center) at Neve Eliyahu. The Ethiopians of all ages who have been helped there need as much support, including financially, as they can get.
Now that I live in Israel year-round, I see for myself how few Ethiopians have been able to make it to the middle class. Most of them work at the lowest level jobs because they didn’t get enough education and other support in their early years. Orientation to Israeli life is a complex process for those whose parents started out in deprivation in their homeland and had to painfully adjust to using what the rest of us think of as automatic privileges, privileges as simple as hot and cold running water, a new language, and so many other factors of modern life in Israel.