Harvey Junior Helps Jerry’s Kids

A social studies assignment that 11th-grader Justin Bernstein received while he was in the seventh grade at Fox Lane Middle School has today turned into a $40,000 windfall for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

All of the money raised is due to Justin’s tireless efforts to help raise awareness of the disease, which currently afflicts about 250,000 Americans, including a good friend of Justin’s. MD is a group of genetic, degenerative diseases primarily affecting voluntary muscles. The 17-year-old came up with the fundraising idea after his social studies teacher at Fox Lane, Erin Filner, asked that the class think of ways to make the world a better place, based upon the premise of the movie “Pay It Forward.”

The film, which starred Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and Haley Joel Osment, is about a young boy who also receives an intriguing assignment from his social studies teacher, requiring him to think of something that would change the world and then to put it into action. The character, Trevor, decides to repay good deeds not with payback, but with new deeds done to three new people. His efforts result in a change not only in himself and those close to him, but to an ever-widening circle of people whom Trevor has never met.

“At first, I didn’t know what I could do, but then I saw this as a great opportunity to raise money and help find a cure for muscular dystrophy,” said Justin. He initially contacted the late Robert Ross, the association’s former CEO, who put Justin in contact with the local MDA office in Hawthorne.

“The people at the Hawthorne office couldn’t believe that a 12-year-old wanted to take on something of this magnitude,” said Justin, referring to his desire to raise money through a MDA-sponsored event called “Stride-n-Ride.” The non-competitive initiative is open to walkers, runners and even the physically challenged.

This year marks the fourth “Stride-n-Ride” event Justin has helped organize, turning the initiative into a “truly a community event,” he said. The most recent one was held April 12 on the grounds of The Harvey School, and included the efforts of students from all seven of the Bedford Central Schools, including those from Harvey’s middle and upper schools.

The day’s events raised $9,200 for the MDA. Justin’s goal, however, is to reach the $10,000 mark this year. If he succeeds, he will have the opportunity to personally present a check to an MDA representative on the nationally televised Jerry Lewis Telethon, which is broadcast each year on Labor Day. He has appeared on the show twice before.

A pledge of $85 buys one minute of research toward finding a cure. A pledge of $800 sponsors a child at an MDA summer camp. To contribute, contact Justin at 914-666-5444.