For the past several years, Bari and her parents, Suzy and Mark Weber of Chesterfield, had volunteered at United Hebrew’s Mitzvah Day. Bari loved making bracelets at the Circle of Hope station. So it was only natural for this to become one of her mitzvah projects. “I wanted to bring together my friends and family for a good time to help a great cause.  I liked the idea that Circle of Hope benefits so many other organizations which provide support to people with breast cancer,” said Bari.

“My mitzvah project is dedicated to my maternal great-grandmother, Betty Krantz, for whom I am named,” she said. “Nannie was a 30-year breast cancer survivor who always shared her gift of life as an avid volunteer for various causes. I would like to thank my 26 friends and family members who joined me in November for a Circle of Hope bracelet-making party.”

Proceeds from the bracelets benefited breast cancer research and care organizations, including the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

“In keeping with my Torah portion, Kedoshim, which provides many examples of how we can be holy, my parents and I also chose to incorporate an element of mitzvah into each of my bat mitzvah celebrations,” she said.

Children’s books and plush characters used as centerpieces for Shabbat dinner were purchased from Kohl’s Cares for Kids and were donated to Ranken Jordan Children’s Hospital. Birthday celebration boxes for Kiddush were donated to the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry. Guests to the Saturday evening celebration received a ‘Bat Mitzvah Buck’ to place in a tzedakah box for one of four organizations: the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Autism Society of America, the Celebrate Life Foundation (organ donation awareness), and United Hebrew’s Wolff Transportation Fund.

 A student at Crestview Middle School, Bari plans to returning to Circle of Hope during this school year to complete mitzvah hours for her Religious Chai School at United Hebrew. Some of her friends from United Hebrew will be joining her.

Circle of Hope Bracelets is a offers its dedicated volunteers opportunities to raise money for the fight against cancer. Volunteer activities include making and selling bracelets, with profits donated to cancer causes. Since its founding in 1999, Circle of Hope Bracelets has donated more than $2.6 million.