Zoe Lukens presented San Diego Youth Services with a tremendous gift of $23,440. She turned 13 on Feb. 8 and in lieu of gifts for her Bat Mitzvah she requested donations be made to SDYS to support youth experiencing homelessness.

Zoe has been passionate about helping homeless youth from a young age and chose to study the topic in depth last year for a change makers project in school.

Zoe states, “It breaks my heart to see kids my age experiencing this so I want to give back. The Torah portion I learned for my Bat Mitzvah talked about the importance of helping the stranger. For me, the Jewish value of tikkun olam, or repairing the world, means every child should get the same opportunities.” Zoe wants to do her part to make sure other kids like her get the support they need to succeed.

Bravo to Zoe for selflessly giving to other youth. She is an inspiration and shining light in our community.