"It is strange but since he was a little boy - I have always thought of Mac as an angel."
These are the words of Anne Andrews who brought the word of Birthday Angels to Vancouver. Her story about Mackenzie Maxwell Menkes' shines a new light on the meaning of the "Circle of Giving".
As Principle of Temple Sholom school, several of her students chose Birthday Angels as their Mitzvah project.
"I was at Mackenzie (Mac) Menkes' (previously Muir) Bar Mitzvah this morning."' Anne writes. "He did a lovely job of promoting Birthday Angels and had a pushka sitting out which raised another
2 parties. He wants me to bring the money with me to give to you personally, and hopes to have more for you before I leave. He put the Birthday Angels website onto his Bar Mitzvah invitations and asked his guests to make pledges."
Mac grew up in a poor neighborhood near Vancouver. He invited his classmates to his birthday party one year and most of them did not show up. The next year he invited them to his party and told them not to bring any presents. That year, they all came. For this reason, Mac can relate to kids who cannot afford to have their own birthday parties, and the Birthday Angels tzedakah project really caught his attention. He loves the concept and is passionate about promoting it.
His giving comes from a deep awareness of the true meaning of celebrating one special day. He has turned this wisdom into action by enabling others like him experience the thrill of celebrating your special day with friends.
