Ariel Berwald, Congregation B’nai Amoona

In Parashat Miketz, Ariel’s Torah portion, Joseph is referred to as a dreamer. Ariel put a spin on that for her bat mitzvah project, helping children in need to have better dreams by providing cozy blankets for them. 

Daughter of Laurie and Bruce Berwald of Chesterfield, Ariel used her resources to purchase the fabric and invited over five of her friends for a blanket-making party. The girls made 14 blankets in fun patterns, which were donated to Project Linus, whose mission is to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized or otherwise in need, through gifts of handmade blankets. 

A student at Parkway Central Middle School, Ariel decided to make blankets because it is a good way to help others. 

“When you make something by hand, it means a lot more to a person than just buying something,” she said. “It shows the person that you are willing to put effort in and think more about what you are doing. When I made the blankets, I enjoyed doing it because I like crafty things like that, but I mostly enjoyed the feeling that I was working to help others in a meaningful way.”