Liam’s Bar Mitzvah Service Project - Helping Animals in Need

Dear friends and family,

As you know, I am going to have a bar mitzvah, and when you have a bar mitzvah it is customary to do a service project. For my project, I decided to raise money to support the Animal Welfare League of Arlington (AWLA) (https://www.awla.org). My goal is to raise at least $1000. AWLA is an organization dedicated to improving the lives of animals. They are a no kill shelter which has been helping animals for more than 80 years. Last year alone they rescued more than three and a half thousand animals, including dogs, cats, parakeets, guinea pigs, bunnies, a mouse, and a python.

I chose to do my service project with animals for two reasons. The first is that according to the Torah, a Jew is not supposed to pass by any animal in distress or being mistreated. In fact, this rule is so important that even on the Sabbath, one of the most important days of the year, when one of the primary reasons is to rest, you know what the Torah says to do? It tells you to stop and to help whatever animals it is that is in distress.

In addition, I have always had a personal affinity with animals. As many of you know, I have a dog named Canela. Since we have had her, she has become a major part of our family. The bond that my family and I have made with our dog makes the idea of more than 350,000 dogs being euthanized each year difficult to think about. That’s why I’m asking for your support. Your donation, big or small, will help AWLA continue its mission of rescuing, sheltering, and finding loving homes for animals in need. Together, we can make a real difference.

With the money I raise, I will work with AWLA to make sure that the money helps support AWLA’s most urgent needs.

Thanks for your support!

Liam