There comes a time in a child’s life when they must become aware of not only their own wants and needs, but the wants and needs of others. In the Jewish religion, that time is when the child becomes an adult and is Bar Mitzvahed at the age of 13. A Jewish child cannot become Bar Mitzvahed if they do not perform a Mitzvah, or good deed, for someone else.
On Wednesday, Zach Litchman, a seventh grader at and soon-to-be Bar Mitzvah at , set up an art party for fourth graders through Kidz b Kidz, a Needham-based nonprofit organization that teaches children about empathy and the importance of helping others by simply drawing a picture. In addition to Litchman, who led the event, Kidz b Kidz co-founders Nancy Corderman and Jan Weinshanker were there to help out. Four “young entrepreneurs,” high school volunteers who help set up and organize art parties themselves, were also present to assist the fourth grade students. The four young entrepreneurs, all rising seniors, were Meaghan O’Connell, Elizabeth Thornton, Hannah Corderman and Kim Parsons.
The event began with introductions being made and Litchman explaining to the kids what they were going to be doing. The main idea for Kidz b Kidz art parties is for kids to just draw whatever they want. Their drawings are then used on various products that are sold, with the proceeds going to benefit Children’s Hospital in Boston. Some of the products are basic paper placemats that are used on trays in hospitals, while others are johnnies or even scrubs used by the doctors and nurses. Kidz be Kidz will turn four years old in November.
“We live in communities that have a lot going on,” Nancy Corderman said. “There's a lot of wealth that surrounds us. There’s a lot of social networking and all kinds of things, but now we need to take it back a step. We need to say ‘OK, guys, slow down, and how can you give back?’ And we’re really seeing a big difference.
"This message is what we want all over," she continued. "We want [youth] to just stop what they’re doing and realize that we need to give back as well. We found that that empowering piece plays itself out in so many ways whether it’s a patient in a hospital or if it’s a student who’s very healthy and wants to think more about other people.”
For Litchman, it wasn’t really a tough decision to get involved with Kidz b Kidz once he heard of them. Faced with the task of having to choose some sort of community service project to meet his Bar Mitzvah requirement, he wasn’t sure of what he wanted to do. An avid cartoonist, when he discovered the locally based organization his first thought was how and when he could get started.
“We were looking and scrambling for something to try to find for me to do my Mitzvah project on to get Bar Mitzvahed and I’m thinking and I’m thinking and my dad finally finds this little box in the newspaper and it talks about this nonprofit organization called Kidz b Kidz,” Litchman said. “And we read the caption and everything about it seemed right for me. Drawing, helping kids — it seemed like that was the one we needed to choose because we weren’t going to find anything better than this. It turned out to be really good.”
Rabbi Michele Lenke is in charge of Hebrew education at Temple Beth Shalom. She has known for Litchman for nearly seven years.
“He’s a really good artist,” Lenke said. “It’s a passion of his. The fact that he’s able to share it with others is awesome.”
At the art party on Wednesday, Litchman walked around the class and spoke to the students, helping them out whenever they needed it. Also helping the students were the young entrepreneurs, who had just completed their final exams of the year the previous day. The four girls originally started their involvement to meet the eighth grade community service requirement of six hours. They enjoyed doing it so much, though, that they have continued to be involved throughout high school. One young entrepreneur has already met the high school’s 60 hours of community service requirement before starting her senior year.
“I remember in eighth grade I was struggling to get the six hours done and I thought I’d never get it done,” said Hannah Corderman, who is also Kidz b Kidz co-founder Nancy Corderman’s daughter. “Now it’s like 60 hours is no big deal. It’s about using a leadership role to help kids understand how they can help other kids.”
Wednesday’s art party appeared to be a success, with all of the fourth graders drawing pictures. Some even drew more than one. As for Litchman, he may have met his Bar Mitzvah requirement, but that doesn’t mean he’s done giving back to the community.
“I think I’m going to work with this organization some more,” he said. “I’m sure before my Bar Mitzvah I’ll be meeting with them again to try to schedule another art party or try to find another way of helping out the kids. I’m glad that I could take part in it and I could be able to help the kids out. It’s like a chain reaction. If one person helps someone else, then another person helps someone else and it keeps going.”