I am an 8th grader at Emerson Middle School. I love playing music and making art. My parents are Andy and Jennifer Steuer. I am an only child and love spending time with my golden retriever puppy, Daisy.

For my Bat Mitzvah project, I volunteered at NKLA (No-Kill Los Angeles.) NKLA is a non-profit organization that prevents animals from being put down because nobody is adopting them, and they put animals in their own shelters, and will move them around until they get adopted. When I volunteered at one of the NKLA shelters, I had the opportunity to give them some homemade dog treats, and a somewhat used bed for their dogs. At the shelter, there was a line of people outside before it opened to adopt an animal they saw online. Once I saw that, I knew that everything we give to these animals makes a difference for those homeless dogs and cats. NKLA helps animals that need owners so much and also prevents the unnecessary putting down of animals.

I would like to thank my parents for always having faith in me and helping me through the times when I didn’t want to practice. I would also like to thank Rabbi Aaron, Cantor Weiss, and Shelly Kamara for helping me prepare for my Bat Mitzvah.

You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending. – C.S. Lewis