Caruso 8th Graders Turn Mandate Into Love

What began as a required project for Deerfield eighth graders Brandon Keller and Tyler Gold a year ago has turned into an ongoing passion for the two eighth graders.

As 13-year-olds last year, Gold and Keller were required to develop a community service project as part of their Bar Mitzvah preparation. Friends since preschool, they combined their love of basketball and a synagogue mandate to raise more than $14,000 for charity over the last two years.

Their idea was the TGBK (Tyler Gold Brandon Keller) Basketball Shootout, a basketball skills competition to raise money for three charities meaningful to the young men — the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, the Jill Landau Triple Negative Breast Cancer Fund and Propionic Acidemia Foundation.

“My cousin died of a brain tumor the year before and I wanted to do something to give back,” Gold said. “We both love basketball, had a mitzvah project to do and decided to do this.”

Gold was referring to his 14-year-old cousin, Lucas Goldbaum who died two years ago. Keller wanted to raise money in memory of a college friend of his mother, Debbie Keller, who died of cancer and fight a disease that afflicts one of Brandon’s cousins.

Most synagogues require a mitzvah project of a boy or girl before a bar or bat mitzvah, according to Rabbi Sidney Helbraun of Temple Beth El in Northbrook where the Kellers belong. “The goal of the project giving something to the community,” Helbraun said.

Gold and Keller did most of the work by themselves, according to Nancy Gold, Tyler’s mother. They contacted in Deerfield to ask if it would donate its facility. They went to more than 40 local merchants to donate prizes and other things for the event.

“It’s amazing what they accomplished,” Nancy Gold said. “They got help from their families but they went to the local businesses, asked for something and they (the businesses) gave them $25 gift cards.”

They were so pleased with the results in 2011 raising nearly $7,000 they decided to do it again Jan. 13. This time they took in more than $7,000 for the three causes.

“We were really pleased last year but we wanted to do better,” Tyler Gold said. “We wanted to keep giving so we did it again. We’re going to do it every year we can keep doing it.”

Basketball is a passion for Keller and Gold. They both play for Caruso and hope to play for next year. They have also taken a major step into adulthood, according to Rabbi Helbraun.

“They showed love and kindness by continuing to do this project in a year they were not required to do it,” Helbraun said. “This is what we want to see in all of our adults.”