There are many ways to celebrate a bas mitzvah. Some students in HALB’s sixth grade class have developed a new and unique program to make the bas mitzvah experience more meaningful for themselves and their parents. In order to refocus attention on core Jewish values, the girls came up with a number of ideas that developed into the Giveaway Pledge. First, the girls decided that to maximize impact, they would give up something in exchange for something that they felt was more meaningful. The participating girls have chosen not to give away party favors at their bas mitzvah party and, instead, the girls decided to give to others who are less fortunate. As a result, the girls are participating in numerous chesed projects throughout the year. Last, the girls would like to learn more about how to broadly change their communities. To this end, the girls are learning about philanthropy and will even create a formal board that will allocate charitable funds donated by an anonymous donor at the end of the school year.