The Unexpected Giver

As a philanthropist, I am always inspired by how young people think about giving away money. In what will be their world, the way they give expresses who they are - givers with interests in technology and the sustainability of our world.

Noah Helfstein

Just this Passover, a 13-year-old bar mitzvah boy from New York with a passion for 3-D printing dedicated a mobile 3-D printing lab for children in Israel. 

Using $76,000 he received in bar mitzvah gift money, Noah Helfstein funded the first ever “Maker Bus”, A retrofitted bus equipped with innovative technology and educational tools for teaching kids how to become makers of new products or common household items, computers or other devices, musical instruments, cameras, printers, even food and drink.

“I chose this project because of my passion for new technology and because I wanted to give disadvantaged children in Israel the same educational opportunity to interact with new technology that I have.” Noah Helfstein. 

The Maker Bus

The advanced 3D printer on this bus allows the production of almost any object 

ranging from
shoes, furniture, and kitchen equipment to toys and prostheses 

for the disabled
and blind.

The first ever Maker Bus - a specially renovated mobile technology lab - will make the advanced technology available to children throughout Israel - thanks to the imagination of Noah, whose interest in 3-D technology led him to make his own 3-D printer. 

The Maker Bus - a project of XLN, a subsidiary of the Reut Group - will be brought to children in the periphery of the country through a mobile program of Ofanim, an organization that sends these unique schools on wheels to children in the remotest parts of Israel. 

Young philanthropists like Noah are not waiting to earn their first million to make a difference in the lives of others. In their own unique ways, they will leave their own legacy. I am looking forward to seeing how they shape the world with their gifts of imagination.