Boy pledges his barmitzvah money to strike-shut Pittsburgh Symphony

Hats off to Jonah Hertzman, a young guy with a heart.

Instead of saving up his barmitzvah money for the latest games console or designer trainers, he’s asking people to give their money to the tormented Pittsburgh Symphony.

On a crowdfunding site he has set up for that purpose, Jonah explains:

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra helps the economy—it makes people want to live here. It provides entertainment for a lot of people. And there wouldn’t be as much music education in Pittsburgh if it weren’t for the PSO. That’s why I chose supporting the PSO for my Bar Mitzvah project.

The PSO management is currently asking the musicians to take a 15% pay cut (among other things) because they say they are facing a future funding deficit. I’m afraid that if this happens, some musicians will go to other orchestras and the quality of the PSO will decline….

I want to use this fundraiser as leverage to encourage management to negotiate with the musicians and end the strike. As soon as the strike ends, I will donate all the money I’ve raised here directly to the PSO itself. In the meantime, I want PSO management to know how important the musicians are to me and to my friends and family. Thanks!

You can read more and support Jonah’s Barmitzvah project here.