The Dashefsky family at Hebrew Health Care (left to right): Allison’s grandparents, Arnold and Sandy Dashefsky, her aunt Alisa Dashefsky; her sister Olivia, Allison, her parents Laura Lester and Michael Dashefsky, holding Allison’s sister Elizabeth.

When it came time to select a bat mitzvah project, Allison Dashefsky knew she wanted it to include two elements:  her passion for art and her gratitude to Hebrew Health Care (HHC) in West Hartford, where her great-grandmother, Sylvia Dashefsky, had once been cared for.  So the young woman, who lives in the Washington, D.C. area with her parents and two sisters, created eight paintings to be hung in the rooms of residents who are unable to leave their rooms, and brought them with her on a visit to the home, along with much-needed art supplies for the home’s art program. On the day of her visit, Allison assisted residents in a painting project and then, along with her family, presented a check to HHC for the art program. Said her grandmother Sandy Dashefsky “We felt such joy watching Ally interact and paint with the residents, and, of course, we kvelled as Ally shared with the art class participants her donation of arts and crafts supplies as well as her own paintings. We couldn’t be prouder of our granddaughter who ‘makes herself known by her acts’ (Proverbs 20:11).”