Hag Sameah! It’s Alex, here with the next installment of my blog, Mitzvah Project Profiles. Abby’s story was so uplifting. This month, in honor of Sukkot, when we leave our homes for temporary shelters, I decided to blog about Molly and Elise’s bat mitzvah project.

Molly and Elise are best friends. They wanted to help others and give back to the community for their bat mitzvah projects. After brainstorming what to do, they decided to raise money for “The Family Place,” an organization that provides resources for a shelter in Dallas that houses women and children who are victims of family violence. For reasons of confidentiality, Molly and Elise were not told the name of the shelter, nor were they allowed to meet any of the women or children in the course of their mitzvah project.

Molly and Elise collected 500 pairs of shoes from their friends and neighbors, and collected just over $200. They used the money to buy food, formula, and diapers, which they donated to “The Family Place” along with the shoes they collected.

As a result of this mitzvah project, Molly and Elise realized how fortunate they were compared to those victims of abuse, and agreed that they wanted to continue helping the shelter even after their bat mitzvah celebrations. Acknowledging that so many people are in need, they told me in our interview that they didn’t want to do the project just for their bat mitzvah. They wanted to do it for the rest of their lives.

Molly and Elise’s mitzvah project has made me realize how lucky I am to have my family and friends, and I hope their story has touched you the way it has touched me. Have a happy Sukkot.

If you have a mitzvah project you'd like to share, e-mail me here, and I may feature your project in my Babaganewz blog and in my book!