Unlike some Mitzvah Kids, Eric Pass of Fair Lawn, NJ, was not actually required to do a Project for his Bar Mitzvah. However, as Eric tells us, he wanted to anyway. Almost five years after his Bar Mitzvah, he is still working on the Project he voluntarily designed! Here’s what Eric shares with MM:
I wasn’t required to start a charity project for my Bar Mitzvah. However, I wanted to help those in need. Since I always wore hats, I decided to collect baseball caps to donate to children battling cancer. I chose 1,800 as my initial goal, as eighteen signifies “Chai,” or life, in Hebrew.
At first, obtaining caps was not an easy task. I emailed and sent out letters to companies and organizations, including professional sports teams, popular businesses, and local temples. I set up a donation box at both the Fair Lawn Jewish Center and Thomas Jefferson Middle School, where many people from town would drop off new caps.
Due to the tremendous outpouring for “Caps for Caring,” I continued to run this project through the beginning of my high school years. I collected and donated almost 5,000 hats to a diverse assortment of non-profit groups. Those groups include Hadassah Hospital (Israel), Chai Lifeline Foundation (New York), Valley Hospital (Ridgewood, NJ), The Tomorrow’s Children Institute at the Hackensack University Medical Center and Victims of the Hurricane Katrina Tragedy.
Eric tells us he will be collecting caps through September, when he will be going off to college. If you would like more information about Caps for Caring, email us at mitzvahmail@gmail.com and we will pass along the information to Eric!
Eric Pass at age 17
Thank you, Eric! You are really making a difference!
