The Charlotte Jewish News - September 2008 - Page 15
Bat Mitzvah Projects Connects Holocaust
Survivors to Their Descendants
My name is Elyse Bodenheimer
and I am twelve years old. My bat
mitzvah is on January 24, 2009,
and for my bat mitzvah project I
have created a website for the
grandchildren and children of
holocaust survivors to share their
grandparents’ stories on their jour
neys and survival during the holo
caust.
The website name is www.my
jewishlegacy.com, and I decided
to do this website because I want
ed kids to have a place to docu
ment the journeys and experiences
their family had to go through. I
hope to inspire others who read
these courageous stories. 1 was
taught how my family fought to
survive because they were proud
of their Jewish identity, and hear
ing about my own family’s history
has made me feel proud to be a
Jew. I am hoping that this website
will keep those memories alive.
I have been blessed with won
derful grandparents. Two of them,
my dad’s parents, escaped
Germany during the rise of Hitler
and the Nazis. I never knew my
grandmother, Ellen Schleicher
Bodenheimer, because she died
before I was bom. My grandfather,
Bert Amo Bodenheimer, passed
away on March 8. He truly
inspired me to be proud of my
Jewish heritage.
I once spent an afternoon inter
viewing my Grandpa Bert and re
living his travels from the age of
ten. I learned what it was like to
live as a Jewish child under the
rule of the Nazis. There came a
Elyse with her grandfather.
time when he could no longer go
to school in Germany. His family
lived on the Swiss border, and
they were able to arrange for him
and his sister to go to school there.
He would ride his bike to school in
Switzerland, hiding documents
and money (also the deed to the
house in Germany) and sneaking
them across the border, to give to a
teacher in Switzerland to hold for
his family. Every day the police
would flag him over the border
into Switzerland, but on the ride
home, they would stop him, search
his belongings, and even take the
tire off of his bicycle to make sure
he wasn’t smuggling items into
Germany. They never thought he
would smuggle items out of
Germany. It was very dangerous to
do this for his family, but my
grandfather was a very deter
mined, smart, and brave person.
His Jewish identity very impor
tant to him.
Once I get and read the stories,
I will post them on the website and
comment on them. It is important
to share these stories with genera
tions to come. If it were not for
their bravery, a lot of us would not
be here today. Hopefully everyone
will check back on the website and
read the stories of other families,
and get some inspiration.
What I hope to get out of my
bat mitzvah project is that I can
encourage others to learn more
about the holocaust and their own
family’s history. I will also be
researching more about my grand
parents and we can share informa
tion with each other on ways to
find more about the different jour
neys to the United States.
A little bit about me: I am a
confident and studious kid who
enjoys all sports, and especially
likes to spend time with my
friends. I am kind hearted and like
to volunteer my time. This past
Hanukkah, instead of receiving a
gift each of the eight nights, my
brother and I donated to a different
charity or person each night. Some
of the nights we would go up to
random people and hand them a
home made holiday card and a gift
card for them to enjoy. I am named
for my grandmother, Ellen. From
the stories of her childhood and as
an adult, she lived a life that made
me want to be just like her - kind,
generous, smart, and a good per
son. She was one of the first
women to go to Yale Law School
and my dream is to follow in her
footsteps and attend Yale.
I live in Charlotte with my par
ents and my younger brother Ian
where I am a rising seventh
grader at South Charlotte Middle
School. ^
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Bowl-a-Thon and Bake Sale to Raise
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Imagine what it would be like
to cry without tears, to take lots of
medication every day, to not be
able to fully taste the food you are
eating or to even be fed through a
tube in your stomach. These are
things that a person with Familial
Dysautonomia (FD) experiences
every single day. Thirteen years
ago at the age of four months,
Frannie Cohen was diagnosed
with FD. Since then, her family
and friends have worked hard to
raise awareness and funding for
FD.
In honor of the upcoming B’not
Mitzvah of Frannie Cohen and her
best fiiend Madison Madrazo, the
two of have decided to share their
mitzvah project and they are hold
ing a Bowl-a-Thon and Bake Sale
to raise money for the FD founda
tion. The foundation funds
research for treatment and medica
tions that help people with FD,
and now everyone in the
Ashkenazi Jewish population can
be tested to see if they are carriers
of the FD genes.
The girls’ goal is to raise
$1,800. Participants in the Bowl-
a-Thon will need to get sponsors.
Each sponsorship should be a min
imum of $18. The person who
brings in the most sponsorship
dollars wins a grand prize. One
hundred percent of our profits will
go to the Dysautonomia
Foundation, Inc.
Best friends Madison Madrazo and
Frannie Cohen.
The Bowl-a-Thon will be held
Thursday, September 18, from 6-8
PM at the Carolina Lanes in
Matthews. There will be snacks,
pizza for dinner, and a raffle with •
cool prizes. All bowlers must reg
ister by September 4 in order to
reserve a spot in Bowl-a-Thon.
Please send an email to
Jeffreycohen@bellsouth.net with
each bowler’s name, address,
email, phone number, and the
names of the people you want to
share a lane with (maximum five
bowlers per lane). If you don’t
care whom you will be bowling
with, they will be happy to group
you.
Pledges can be paid by credit
card on the Foundation’s website,
www.famdys.org/Frannie. Please
bring any pledge money not sub
mitted online to the Bowl-a-Thon
on September 18. Checks should
be made payable to The
Dysautonomia Foundation, Inc.
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