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April 8, 2005/Adar II 28 5765, Volume 57, No. 32
Bar mitzvah boy strives to collect 11,000 videos
BENJAMIN LEATHERMAN
Special to Jewish News
Adam Sherman wanted his bar mitzvah project to make a difference.
If you ask any of the children convalescing at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea, the 13-year-old Scottsdale resident has done just that.
Over the past four months, Sherman has collected and donated more than 2,500 children's videos for the hospital's pediatrics ward, providing patients with an enjoyable distraction.
"When Adam brings in a wagon full of video tapes for the kids to choose from, they're always excited," says Shannon Hickson, the hospital's child life specialist. "They feel like they're at Toys 'R' Us."
Sherman began his collection drive in December after realizing his family spent more time watching movies on DVD than on videotape.
"I thought, why not let other children benefit from some of the videotapes we have and others have," he says. "Plus I have a connection to the hospital because my sister Danya was born there in 1997."
Craig Sherman, Adam's father, says the family helped get the project going by setting up a booth outside of Temple Chai in Scottsdale for Adam to distribute flyers and collect donations every Sunday morning.
The Mountainside Middle School student then asked friends and family for any videos they could part with, set up several drop-off boxes throughout the northeast Valley, and was even featured on KTVK's "Good Morning Arizona" in March, asking for even more donations.
Every few weeks, Adam and his mother, Hope, have visited the hospital to distribute the latest videotapes he has collected. Patients usually choose two or three videos to watch during their stay in the hospital, which typically lasts three to five days, and can take one of their favorites with them to enjoy while recovering at home.
Hickson says the videos help younger patients cope with their hospital ordeal.
"During traumatic procedures like IV insertions, we try to provide something soothing to children," she says. "The videos help with that."
The feedback Adam has received, Hope says, has been priceless. One mother thanked him personally as the videos helped to comfort her daughter during the child's stay.
Despite his successes, Adam is a long way from his goal of collecting 11,000 videos, representing the number of pediatric patients treated annually at the hospital, by June 4, when he becomes a bar mitzvah.
"The demand is extraordinary, it's the supply that's the problem that we're grappling with," says Hope.
Adam has approached local retailers and businesses for donations, but because he is an individual and not a charitable organization, few have provided assistance.
"It's as if he's already picked the low fruit on the tree and is now reaching for the higher branches," says Hope.
She's hopeful, however, that her son will meet his goal, and even pass the torch on to other teens eager to continue the project.
For more information or to donate videos, call 480-607-1970 or e-mail azvideodrive@aol.com.
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