‘Amazing’ mitzvah project brings community together, raises money to battle cancer

Brett (center) and sister Rachel (left) welcoming a team at the finish line. When Brett Steinfeld organized the Amazing Race for Life in Westchase as his mitzvah project, the impact it had on the community was, in a word, amazing. Brett, who became a Bar Mitzvah April 2 at Congregation Schaarai Zedek in Tampa, organized the Amazing Race for Life with help from his parents, Steven and Debbie Steinfeld, to raise money for the American Cancer Society (ACS). It was his second time organizing the event.

Brett’s inspiration came from his grandfathers, both of whom succumbed to cancer. Brett wanted “to do something to help find a cure.”

The Westchase version of the popular CBS show featured 25 teams of 4-6 people. The teams were given clues that led them to 12 different locations where they then had to complete a challenge. The winner was the team that completed all 12 challenges in the fastest time. One challenge involved taking teams to a 7-Eleven, where they had to convince a stranger to buy them a Slurpee, donate money to the ACS, then drink the Slurpee as fast as possible.

Each team had to donate $100 to the ACS. Brett raised a total of $10,000 from both years’ events.

Brett’s advice for picking a mitzvah project is to do something personally enjoyable. “I love the show Amazing Race,” he said. “I also wanted to raise money for the American Cancer Society. The volunteers had a great day, the teams had a blast, and I raised a lot of money for ACS.”

Brett’s Torah portion was also related to the project. “It is about disease and how people dealt with it in biblical times,” Brett said. Local businesses and more than 50 volunteers helped make the race possible. But Brett credits his parents, who he with being the foundation of the project. “They came to all of my planning meetings with the volunteers and businesses and they helped me write clues for the locations,” Brett said.

Brett plans to hold the event again, as it was such a huge suc-