From Bar Mitzvah Project to Annual Basketball Clinic

Before young Jewish students become bar and bat mitzvahs, many will complete a community service project in an area that is meaningful to them. However, few will turn that project into an annual tradition impacting communities in Atlanta and beyond.

Atlanta native Josh Dwoskin played baseball as a teen and was involved in a local community that ran a baseball team for children with special needs. Dwoskin proceeded to connect with the organizers and implemented his love of sports by creating an opportunity for children with special needs to learn and play basketball.

Dwoskin hosted his initial project at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta (MJCCA), where he was donated a court. He had T-shirts and snacks donated as well and engaged kids and families in fun drills and scrimmage games. Dwoskin enjoyed the experience and received positive feedback from the parents and decided, why stop?

“Seeing all the participants’ joy and having parents come up to me after being like, this is super cool, and their kids loving it … those reactions make it super easy to want to do it again,” Dwoskin said. “It’s super rewarding to see how much joy it brings everybody involved.”

This past April, Dwoskin hosted his ninth annual event, his third at his college, the University of Kansas.

“Giving back in order to become a bar mitzvah set the foundation for me to continue to give back to my community even after going to college outside of Atlanta.” Dwoskin has passed on the Kansas program to a fellow classmate who plans to continue the annual event.

Year 10 is already in the works, and information regarding dates and where to donate can be found on Instagram @challenger_basketball_clinic.