Happy Childhoods Begin Here

Sasha Kaufman, a 17-year-old high school student, is no stranger to volunteerism, having started her charity work at age 11 with the Touch A Heart Foundation.

The organization, of which her mother, Jennifer Kaufman, is the executive director, is a Boca Raton nonprofit 501(c)(3) helping disadvantaged children in the tri-county area. Working with partner agencies to create outreach programs, the foundation helps families and children suffering from poverty, abuse, neglect and illness.

“I started volunteering by helping my mom with all of her charity programs. It was exciting to know I was helping people,” says Kaufman.

Every December Kaufman participates in a Touch A Heart event called “The Joy of Giving.”

“We go to a low-income daycare center with hundreds of gift items (candles, blankets, mugs, etc.) to set up a ‘shop’ for the children to pick out holiday presents for their family members,” she says. “The volunteers help the children with selecting and wrapping the gifts and decorating cards.

“The children are as excited as they would be getting the gifts themselves!”

Another of Kaufman’s favorite Touch A Heart events, the Holiday “Adopt-A-Family” program, started in 2004. She first adopted a family for Christmas in 2017 — and has continued to adopt the same family every year since. Last year, the oldest son even invited Kaufman and her mom to his wedding.

“Several of my friends started adopting families as well,” Kaufman explains. “We buy food and gifts and deliver directly to the families to be put under their Christmas trees.”

To promote volunteerism, Kaufman and her friend, Samantha Port, created Hearts of Gold Day in 2020. The annual community service day features a series of events that teen volunteers participate in. Attendees also bring items to donate, such as canned goods or gently used children’s books.

“I want to share my love of volunteering with other teens, so I created a website and blog about community service. It’s a guide to the What, Where and How to Volunteer in South Florida,” she says. “Seeing the impact on those you’re helping and the benefit to the community is the best part of volunteering.”

For more information about Sasha Kaufman’s projects, visit sashakaufman.wixsite.com/flcommunityservice. 

For more information about Touch A Heart Foundation, visit touchaheartfoundation.org.