Manning Martus (at left) with sister, Allyn, and mom, Devra

Manning Martus, along with her younger sister, Allyn and her mom, Devra, visited the Judaica Sound Archives at the Wimberly Library on FAU’s Boca Raton campus in October 2011.

She was looking for Mitzvah Project that reflected both her interest in music and her respect for her cultural heritage. And. She had a plan.

I was delighted. She had all sorts of ideas about how to encourage her friends and family to donate recordings to the JSA. “I think people have these recordings and aren’t using them,” she told me.

What about folks who don’t have any old Jewish records lying around the house? “I also plan on getting financial contributions from people,” she replied.

When Manning and her family made a return visit to the JSA on August 20,2012 they were full of smiles. . . . and so was I! I learned that Manning’s Bat Mitzvah (June 9, 2012) had been a great success and that Manning had done such a wonderful job singing that she was invited to join the B’nai Aviv Synagogue adult choir.

Manning was enthusiastic about her Mitzvah project. It  was fun for her to bring together her passion for music with the opportunity to do something important in her Jewish community.  By talking about the JSA’s website and mission she encouraged monetary donations and also donations of recordings from personal music collections.

Manning plans to continue her efforts on behalf of the JSA.  She plans to raise money by selling “Save the Music” bracelets to members of her congregation and others.

To show our appreciation of her efforts we presented Manning with a special JSA record label commemorating her achievement.

To learn more about making a financial contribution click here.