We spoke to Jasmine, daughter of two of TiME’s Board of Directors, Ondine Sherman and Dror Ben-Ami. She recently donated 1800 NIS (about 470 USD) to TiME, nearly a third of the gift money she received for her Bat Mitzvah.
First of all, we asked Jasmine to explain a Bat Mitzvah:
Jasmine: “In Jewish culture, a Bat Mitzvah is, for girls, at 12 years old–it’s a big celebration, pretty much like a wedding, and people give you presents and money. For boys, it’s at 13 and pretty much the same thing. But for boys you have a Parashah–a reading from the bible. For girls you usually don’t, but I did do one–Devarim–Moses’s last speech before he dies.
There is a time for speeches–my mother did one, and I did one, and then my father did one, and my cousin did one. I told [the guests] that I am donating money to [TiME], what it does and how it helps. I said that the environment is very important because–all the other problems are also equally important, but I think we should help the environment because, without the world, the other problems won’t exist.”
TiME: So you donated some of the money you were gifted to us?
Jasmine: Yes, I donated about 30 percent of all the money people gave me.
TiME: And why did you do that?
Jasmine: Because it helps the world.
TiME: That’s a very good reason. What do you like about what TiME does?
Jasmine: Well, I think it’s a very good idea. It helps a lot of animals, trees and plants. Buying land and saving it for the animals and the plants, that saves them.
TiME: When did you have this idea to donate money to TiME?
Jasmine: Actually a long time ago. When we started planning it [the Bat Mitzvah], my mom asked me if I want to donate to charity, and I said “yes,” and then we had to decide who to donate to, and we found TiME.
TiME: Are wildlife and nature things that you like generally?
Jasmine: I do think they are very important. Also my mother runs an organization that helps farm animals, and my dad is a zoologist.
Ondine (Jasmine’s mom): I thought I’ll just add that when we talked about giving some of Jasmine’s Bat Mitzvah money for a cause, we went through lots and lots of different causes together. Lots of different causes in Israel, and also around the world, and it was up to Jasmine to decide what she felt most strongly about, and what she wants to donate to, and TiME was her choice because she thought–what did you think?–that it was creative, interesting, a new approach, right?
Jasmine: Yeah.
TiME: Of course, you’re on the Board of TiME.
Ondine: Yes, but I didn’t influence her decision at all.
TiME: How long have you been on the Board?
Ondine: I think since it started.
Jasmine: Seriously?
Ondine: Yeah, it’s been going on for about a year.
Jasmine: I just want to say that I didn’t know she was on the Board at the time. I thought she only joined it after I donated!
TiME: Well that means it was a truly objective decision! Thank you very much for your donation and for speaking with us about it. Hopefully this will inspire others to donate as well, and help us save important habitats.
Please help us purchase biodiversity hotspots by donating to our crowdfunding campaign!