This program is designed primarily for b'nai mitzvah students (typically ages 11–13). It can also be used by teens, families, and others who want to mark a milestone through a Mitzvah Project.

Because b'nai mitzvah students are minors, a parent or legal guardian must initiate the registration and provide consent. After that, students lead their own projects.

Anyone can do a mitzvah! Families, teens, and community members create Mitzvah Projects around birthdays, recoveries, yahrzeits, and other milestones. Contact us and we'll help you design a project.

You can choose from three allocation buckets: Provide Support, Provide Smiles, and Provide Fun. These buckets tell the hospital how to direct the funds raised by your campaign.

You can allocate 100% of your fundraising to one bucket, or you can split your total across multiple buckets. The choice is yours.

“Provide Support” helps families with unexpected costs that come with a child’s hospitalization. Your fundraising in this bucket could help cover things like housing near the hospital, childcare for siblings, transportation, basic expenses, and household bills. Easing these costs can give families some peace of mind during a very difficult time.

Examples of impact:

• $36 could help cover transportation to or from the hospital
• $180 could help cover childcare expenses for siblings
• $360 could help cover one night at a hotel near the hospital
• $1,800 could help cover household bills while a family focuses on their child

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“Provide Smiles” supports experiences that bring joy and comfort to patients and their families. At a children’s hospital, this might include medical clowns, therapy dogs, dance teachers, art activities, or superhero visits that make hard days a little brighter and more hopeful.

Examples of impact:

• $36 could bring one child to a dance class
• $180 could bring a therapy dog to an entire floor
• $360 could bring a week of art classes
• $1,800 could bring a medical clown to the hospital for a month

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“Provide Fun” helps make hospital stays less scary and more comforting by funding toys, games, books, dolls, activity sets, and art supplies. Every child admitted to care receives a toy to make their time a little brighter, whether they are in the emergency room for hours or staying for weeks.

Examples of impact:

• $36 could provide a coloring book and crayons for a child arriving in the emergency room
• $180 could provide 20 books for the library that children can keep
• $360 could provide 15 children with a stuffed animal
• $1,800 could keep each unit stocked with Lego that patients can build and keep

Start a Project

No. The amounts listed are examples to help you see the kind of impact your fundraising can make. They are not literal procurement promises. Actual purchasing decisions are made by the hospital based on current needs. With over 275,000 children coming through Schneider Children’s doors each year, additional funds are always put to good use.

If you are passionate about a specific department or field of medicine (for example, Cardiology, Oncology, Emergency Medicine, Endocrinology, or Psychiatry), you can let the team know, and they will help build your project around that area.

In the Mitzvah Project experience, the three allocation buckets are introduced clearly in the user journey so it’s obvious that you are choosing how your campaign’s funds will be directed. Campaign pages focus on your personal story or a quote from your peer‑to‑peer landing page, while the bucket selection quietly drives how the hospital uses the funds behind the scenes.