B’nai Mitzvah: Gabrielle Claire and Tyler Benjamin Swartz

Gabrielle Claire and Tyler Benjamin Swartz, children of Kimberly and Jonathan Swartz and younger sister and brother to Maddie, became a bat and a bar mitzvah, respectively, May 29, 2021, at Temple Sinai in Sandy Springs. Rabbi Bradley Levenberg and Cantor Beth Schafer officiated. In attendance were proud grandparents Gail and Ed Gershon of Miami, and Linda and Bill Swartz of Denver, as well as close family and friends. Other friends and family joined via Zoom.

The twins’ original b’nai mitzvah date was May 30, 2020, but was postponed a full year due to the pandemic. An evening celebration was held on the Ponce City Market rooftop with many friends and family in attendance.

Gabi and Tyler are rising eighth graders at The Davis Academy. For their mitzvah project, they both participated in programs that raised money to send less fortunate kids to Camp Sea Gull and Camp Seafarer this summer. Gabi and Tyler have spent seven summers at camp and want more children to be able to experience sleepaway camp. Camp helps children grow in self-confidence, independence, resilience, and the ability to learn new skills and make new friends. Tyler used his sailing expertise to race Sunfish sailboats with Kim in the William J. Adams IV Regatta. He raised close to $2,000 to send deserving boys to camp. Tyler was recognized in front of the entire camp for his fundraising accomplishments. Gabi joined her mom and sister to run in the annual Charleston Half Marathon and 5K with a team of camp friends and counselors. Their Run A Kid To Camp team raised enough funds to send several girls from single-parent households to camp. Participating in their mitzvah projects was a rewarding experience for Gabi and Tyler and they plan to continue volunteering with camp and other philanthropies in the future.