A group of girls head out on Friday afternoon with a clear destination in mind; they are fully equipped with neshek packages, sheva mitzvos cards, and pushkas. After a short subway ride, the train stops at the station and the mission begins.
A young girl approaches a woman walking past, and with a shy smile inquires, “Excuse me, are you Jewish?” She hands her a neatly packed neshek kit with a smile, then offers her a coin for tzedakah. “Thank you so much, will you be here next week as well?” The girls respond in the affirmative. After all, this is their ‘mivtzoim spot’ where they come every week. “I’ll look forward to seeing you then, and I’ll be sure to bring my own change for tzedakah!”
Then with a bounce in her step, and candles in her bag, she walks off. The girls linger awhile longer to hand out neshek and sheva mitzvos cards before returning home to begin their own Shabbos preparations. The return trip becomes an improv farbrengen as the girls reflect on their mivtzoim experience, sharing thoughts and stories.
As these girls light Shabbos candles in their respective homes, they think about the women and girls they met who were inspired to do the same.
The above scenario is far from being an isolated incident. This group is one of 15 Ufaratzta groups. Project Ufaratzta is a program organized by Lubavitch Youth Organization and Bais Rivkah Seminary Beis, arranging groups for girls in grades 4-8 and their chaperones to visit their designated mivtzoim locations every Friday after school. This initiative was introduced last year, to give girls the opportunity to participate in mivtzoim on a new level, and is now in its second year.
As this year marks 50 years since the Rebbe started Mivtza Neshek, organizers are excited to watch the growth of the program and invite all girls to participate. Over 100 girls have taken part in this initiative, and now you can too!
Any girl in 4th-8th grade is welcome to sign up! The link to sign up is here:
https://forms.gle/t4heqrhmUHRaQxbY7
Older girls! We need you as well! If you are in seminary or older, you can enable another group of young, eager girls to go on mivtzoim each Friday. Two chaperones accompany each group.
https://forms.gle/cQvuNHooBnRr9TZA8
Mivtzoim supplies, transportation, and other expenses all add up quickly. If you can help with a donation please click the link below to contribute. Any amount helps!
