Lila Alyse Fineman, daughter of Lindsay and Michael Fineman, will become a bat mitzvah on Saturday, May 10, at Congregation Beth Shalom.
Lila's grandparents are Janet Gershon and the late Steve Gershon of Overland Park, Kansas, and Hollie and Glen Fineman of Omaha, Nebraska. She has two younger sisters, Scarlett (11) and Julia (7), and a puppy, Ari.
An Honor Roll 7th grade student at Overland Trail Middle School, Lila enjoys math and performing with the school choir; spending time with her friends and family; and attending Camp Sabra every summer. She has a passion for dance (especially tap) and is a member of the Pulse Performing Arts Center Competition Team.
For her mitzvah projects, Lila wanted to bring the joy she experiences through dance to the community, so she and several friends visited Village Shalom to perform their favorite dance routines for the residents. Lila also partnered with Kansas City Young Audiences, a nonprofit organization to ensure all children can have dance opportunities like Lila has had over the years. She collected new and gently-used dance apparel, costumes and shoes to help reduce the costly and often-prohibitive dance education expenses for children.