By Fern Allen
May 2009
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Barney with the toothbrushes at home in London |
Bar and Bat Mitzvah youngsters in England and America are discovering that their "coming of age" celebrations are a prime opportunity to collect dental supplies for the Dental Volunteers for Israel clinic in Jerusalem.
In London, Barney Burns asked his guests to donate toothbrushes during his bar mitzvah party. By the time the festivities concluded, he had collected hundreds of toothbrushes for DVI.
“It has been enormous fun sinking my teeth into this project and supporting this wonderful charity," Barney said. "I am so delighted that I have been able to help the dental clinic. Knowing that 500 children will benefit from my activities is hugely exciting.”
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Alexa & her grandfather, Dr Melvin Arnold |
Barney came up with the idea for the tzedakah project after hearing Danielle Franks, founder of the myisrael charity, describe how DVI is providing free dental care and oral hygiene education to thousands of needy children in Jerusalem every year.
"We are hugely proud of Barney," she said. "myisrael was established to help support and strengthen the work of efficient, well-run, grassroots charities in Israel. This is a wonderful example to show that it doesn’t take millions of pounds to make a substantial impact on the lives of many others."
In the US, Alexa Joy Edwards took on a special project for her Bat Mitzvah by writing to dentists in the Washington, DC area, asking them to donate supplies. With the assistance of her grandfather, Dr. Melvin Arnold, DDS, the response yielded three boxes of dental materials, including toothbrushes, anesthetic, and x-ray equipment.
"I hope these supplies help you with the important services that you provide to the children of Israel," Alexa told DVI officials.
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Some of the hundreds of toothbrushes arriving at the clinic |
The materials were hand delivered by DVI volunteers from England and the US.
"The actions of this new generation of DVI supporters goes a long way in ensuring that the tens of thousands of needy Jerusalem children can receive oral health care," said DVI's General Director, Dr. Moti Moskovitz, DMD. "We hope that other bar and bat mitzvah youths will follow their example."
