American Society for Yad Vashem Inc.

Dear Family and Friends,

For my bar mitzvah project, I have chosen to raise awareness and money for the  American Society for Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center.  Yad Vashem is Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.  The American Society for Yad Vashem advances Yad Vashem’s mission to remember the Holocaust through education and to eliminate future genocide around the world.  This cause is very important and personal to me because I am named after my great-great-uncle Gidalya who was murdered in the Holocaust.  My hope is to visit Yad Vashem in the summer of 2022.

I decided to participate in the Twinning Program run by Yad Vashem, which I do not think that a lot of people know about and that I only recently learned about from my mom.  It is a program that pairs a bar mitzvah boy or bat mitzvah girl with a child who did not have a chance to have his or her own bar or bat mitzvah because he or she died in the Holocaust.  The boy or girl being remembered is paired up with a bar mitzvah boy or bat mitzvah girl because of something they have in common.  In my case, I was paired up with a boy named Yehuda Imber because I have a similar Hebrew name to his which is Yehuda Eliyahu.  Yehuda Imber was born in Poland in 1930 and was murdered in Poland at the young age of 12.  His parents and younger brother were also murdered in the Holocaust.

As I approach my bar mitzvah, I think about Yehuda Imber and all of the other children killed in the Holocaust who were unable to celebrate this important milestone.  If it weren’t for the Yad Vashem Twinning Program, I never would have known about Yehuda Imber or have been able to honor his memory.  I have chosen to dedicate my bar mitzvah to the memory of those children who perished in the Holocaust and particularly my twin, Yehuda Imber.  I am asking my family and friends to help memorialize Yehuda Imber and the other children by supporting the important work of Yad Vashem in keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive, especially by running such amazing programs like the Twinning Program which teach children around the world about the Holocaust.

Please consider donating to the American Society for Yad Vashem by clicking the "Donate now" button.  Every donation, large or small, is very appreciated and will help support this cause that means so much to me.

Thank you all for your love and support. 

With love,
Grant

If you would like to learn more about the American Society for Yad Vashem, please check out www.yadvashemusa.org.