Paramus—Ben Porat Yosef held its Sixth Annual Scholarship Walkathon on June 15th, and raised approximately $115,000. Over 170 BPY families participated and generated over 1400 sponsors, with sponsorships ranging from $5 to $1000.
This year, in addition to the many creative ways families raised funds—such as sponsoring shiurim, car washes, spinning classes, flower sales, lemonade stands, challah and boureka sales, cupcake decorating—a donor contributed $25 to the school for each photo submitted by BPY parents of a child doing an act of chesed. The BPY community rallied and parents posted over 400 photos on the BPY Facebook page. This project brought the concept to life for the children, and to the forefront of the Walkathon.
Naomi Nussbaum, BPY parent and kindergarten teacher, had her class participate in the photo submission project by posting photos of her students packing boxes for Tomchei Shabbat of Fair Lawn. “I am thrilled that the children are learning about chesed by actually doing acts of chesed, not just reading or hearing about chesed. The experiences and photos will last a lifetime, and hopefully will continue to inspire not only them, but the entire community to perform acts of chesed.”
As part of the fun of the day, fathers and students participated in running races with the cheering encouragement of the crowd. Uri Moche, father of Victor and Rosie, was the winner of the father’s race; Tova Kaplan and Sam Lehrer were the winners of the girl’s and boy’s races, respectively.
BPY families view the Annual Scholarship Walkathon as more than a fund raiser and morning of fun. It is a celebration of the culmination of another successful school year and a time when BPY families can come together as a community one final time before they disperse for the summer.
Sarit Perry, BPY parent comments, “The Walkathon is one of my favorite events because it brings our school community together to accomplish something good for our fellow families. Everyone is motivated for the good of our school. It is a win-win event that families enjoy, mixing tzedaka, chesed, fun, and community.”
