Seeking Students to Participate in the HIAS B Mitzvah Toolkit Pilot

Hello and Welcome!

Many synagogues require a “mitzvah project” as part of the bar/bat/b’nai/b mitzvah process.  HIAS has heard demand from kids, parents, clergy, and educators for tools to make it easy for kids passionate about helping refugees to focus their mitzvah projects on this important cause. Responding to this overwhelming interest, HIAS has developed this toolkit and is seeking input from students and the parents, clergy and educators supporting them in their project on how to further improve this wonderful resource. The entire project is designed to take between 12-20 hours. Participating students will receive a HIAS B Mitzvah Certificate of Recognition when they complete their project.

About our pilot

HIAS is seeking 18 students to participate in our pilot of this toolkit during the 2024-25 academic year. Pilot participants will commit to using this toolkit as a roadmap for their b mitzvah project and offering feedback throughout the year through surveys, focus groups, and/or conversations with HIAS staff members. This will be a lot of fun and a great opportunity to participate in the development of a tool that will hopefully be useful for students and congregations for years to come. We hope you will join us!

How to sign up

Below is a preview of the toolkit. Participating students will have access both to the presentation and itself and to a HIAS staff member who will be able to help trouble-shoot any challenges and who is aiming to incorporate feedback into improvements to the guide in preparation for wider rollout in fall 2025. If you or a student you know would be interested in participating in our B Mitzvah Toolkit Pilot, please email Madeline Ravich at teens@hias.org who will arrange a time to connect and walk through the guide. Thank you!