NEW TRENDS

from.page 25 C

Pain and
Robert
Kornfekthelp
their daughter
light a candle.

TN

3/19
2004

28C

al candlelighting with the cake, a lot are •
doing charities, where each candle represents
a charity," she said. "Sitting on the tables are
baskets donated to charities of their choice. ,
It's about giving back."
When Robert and Pam Kornfeld of West
Bloomfield planned their daughter Julie's
bat mitzvah in April 2002, the candlelight-
ing ceremony included donations specific -
to each family member or friend called up
to participate.

Julie's grandparents received a donation
certificate to an opera company in their
name, "and for me it was Rabbi
Moskowitz's discretionary fund at Shir
Shalom," Pam said. A special candle was
lit and a donation made to the Israel
Emergency Fund.
"We wanted to make sure that the mitz-
vah was the entire day and not just the
ceremony," said Pam. The bat mitzvah
theme was "Everything Julie," and 21 cen-

terpieces with ragdolls dressed like Julie —
a doll in a soccer uniform, a doll dressed
for school, etc. — were spread around the
room. After the party, the dolls were
donated to JARC.
"We laugh now, because two years later
Julie's on every charity mailing list in the
country," jokes Pam. "She has her own
return address labels." II