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Erin Harris of
West Bloomfield
donated her bat
mitzvah center-
pieces filled with
art supplies to
needy children in
Israel.

JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR
Special to The Jewish News

Area children learn lifelong tzedakah
habits from their parents.

I t was a visit to Yad Vashem that
prompted Erin Harris' act of
tzedakah.
As Erin and her family
Two years later at a celebration
toured the Holocaust museum during
this year marking her bat mitzvah on
a trip to Israel two years ago, she was
Memorial Day weekend, Erin donat-
struck by the display commemorating ed the centerpieces from the party
the children who died during the
treasure chests filled with art supplies
Nazi reign of terror. In the room illu-
— to sick and disabled children in
minated by a single candle, the then
Israel and America.
10-year-old was moved to remember
While Erin's story is compelling
all of the children who never had the
and inspirational, it is the exception,
opportunities she was sure to have.
not the rule. Staff members at several
"She cried and cried," recalled her
area Jewish agencies said few children
mother, Debi Harris, of West
voluntarily perform tzedakah beyond
Bloomfield.
the requirements for b'nai mitzvah.
Instead of letting the tears fall and
Fewer continue after the big day.
later forgetting the lesson, Erin was
In fact, officials for the Allied
moved to action.
Jewish Campaign, the funding source
"I knew I couldn't do anything for
for most area Jewish agencies, said no
the children who had died but I
records are kept on the number
wanted to do something for the kids
of children who contribute, in part
who are alive today but who may not
because a tiny number actually do.
be as fortunate as I am," she said.
And only one in recent memory

,

had donated any significant money,
that which came from his bar mitz-
vah.
D.J. Kucharski, development
director at Jewish Federation
Apartments, said a few of the
employees' children help out with
clerical tasks during the summer but
others are rarely seen.
"They aren't exactly falling out of
the sky. We may see one every now
and then," he said. "But it is a rarity"
to have children volunteer.
Communal workers acknowledge
that the dearth in young volunteers
has something to do with the division
of their time between school and
other activities such as Hebrew
school and other extracurricular
interests. Youngsters also don't readily
have the cash available to make con-

tributions.
But parents and teachers of
tzedakah stars say the secret to raising
them is an early emphasis on the
responsibility of the mitzvah of
tzedakah.
"These attitudes are created, not
born," said Janet Pont, director of the
Eugene and Marcia Applebaum
Jewish Parenting Center in West
Bloomfield.
And the earlier and more repeti-
tious, the better. As parents are the
first role models for children, having
parents participate in tzedakah on a
daily, weekly or monthly basis will set
the groundwork for a child indepen-
dently contributing to works of chari-
ty at a later date, educators say.
Pont suggested explaining
tzedakah to the youngest members of
the family while contributions are
made to the tzedakah box.
"They may not understand what is
being done but it will become a part
of their weekly Shabbat ritual," she
said. "It is a wonderful opportunity