Meet the Bar Mitzvah Boy Who Spent His $76K on Tech Lab for Israeli Kids

Noah Helfstein, 13, next to a mobile technology lab in Israel that he funded with his Bar Mitzvah money. Image by Ronny Tuvia

By Josefin Dolsten April 21, 2016

Thirteen-year-old Noah Helfstein decided to spend his Bar Mitzvah gift money, a whooping $76,000, not on video games or sports gear, but on an educational technology lab for underprivileged Israeli kids.

The young New Yorker unveiled Thursday in Jerusalem the mobile educational center, which consists of a bus equipped with interactive technology-themed educational tools, including a 3D printer.

The “Maker Bus,” will run regular courses and workshops for disadvantage youths, including ultra-religious Jews and Arabs from less affluent communities in Israel’s north and south.

“Given my passion for new technology, I chose this project because I would like to give disadvantaged children in Israel the opportunity to interact with new technology. I’m grateful to my family and friends for supporting my project and I’m excited to see the Maker Bus,” Helfstein said.

The project was done in conjunction with the UJA-Federation of New York’s “Give a Mitzvah-Do a Mitzvah” program and Israeli nonprofit organizations Reut Grop and Ofanim.

“We are all so inspired by Noah and his incredible project, which will bring technology education to young Israelis and strengthen the relationship between New York’s Jewish community and Israel,” said Lori Strouch Kolinsky, director of the Manhattan division of UJA-Federation.

Josefin Dolsten is a New York-based writer who has reported for the Forward, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Times of Israel and other Jewish publications. She currently works as an account director at Fenton Communications, supporting organizations that work to advance racial justice, LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive rights and more. Dolsten earned her B.A. in government from Cornell University and her M.A. in comparative religion and Jewish studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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