13-Year-Old San Diegan Donates $1,800 of Bar Mitzvah Gifts to Help His Homeless Neighbors

SAN DIEGO (Press Release) – The San Diego Rescue Mission received a donation of $1,800 from Leo Fink, a 13-year-old San Diego resident from Carmel Valley who recently had his bar mitzvah and wanted to give part of his gift money to help his neighbors experiencing homelessness.

Leo Fink with Donnie Dee, CEO of the San Diego Rescue Mission. Credit: San Diego Rescue Mission.

Leo has been volunteering at the San Diego Rescue Mission over the past six months serving daily meals and assisting at the Easter Community Meal in April. During his time helping at the Rescue Mission, he learned vital life lessons about humanity and the importance of treating everyone with kindness and respect. Leo’s family is grateful to the San Diego Rescue Mission for the opportunity to teach Leo from a young age how valuable it is to give back to your community and help those in need.

“It’s been very meaningful for me, and I wanted to give back in more ways than donating my time, going full circle by giving a portion of my bar mitzvah gifts to the San Diego Rescue Mission,” said Leo Fink.

The amount Leo chose to donate, $1,800, was inspired by the significance that the number 18 has in the Jewish religion, meaning “life.”

“Leo’s contribution is an incredible blessing. We are so grateful for this amazing young man’s generosity which will make a difference in the lives of our neighbors experiencing homelessness in San Diego,” said Donnie Dee, CEO of the San Diego Rescue Mission.

“I am moved and encouraged that someone of his age is so conscious of what’s going on in our city. Everyone knows we have a homeless crisis, and here’s a 13-year-old kid giving his financial resources and his time to serve meals and hand out clothing to people in need. Leo truly embodies the Mission’s spirit of bringing compassion and care to our neighbors. We hope his story will inspire more of our community to help change the state of homelessness in San Diego County,” Dee remarked.

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Preceding provided by the San Diego Rescue Mission