When Lilah Monday celebrates her bat mitzvah this fall, she and her family will celebrate an important coming-of-age milestone. They’ll also be celebrating the legacy of her grandmother, Wendy Weinberger, who passed away in 2020. Her love of family, fun, and storytelling continues to shape the next generation.

Lilah held a fundraiser for MMC as her bat mitzvah project. “The project should connect to something that’s important to you. I’ve been dancing since I was about 3,” she explained, “and dancing is something my grandmother loved too. I thought it would be fun to offer a kids’ dance camp in her honor and use it to raise money for Memory & Movement Charlotte.” For Lilah, choosing MMC was easy. "MMC helped my nanny, and it can help other people too," she said.

About a dozen young dancers signed up, and they spent the day learning a routine they performed for their families. The event, plus donations, raised more than $1,200, and three generations of Lilah’s family visited MMC together to present this special gift. They all agreed that Wendy would be thrilled.

"Mom was a natural storyteller, and she believed a good story should come full circle – she called it rounding out,” Laurabree, Lilah’s mother, shared. “Judaism teaches a version of this too, called L’dor V’dor, the passing of values and traditions from generation to generation. She'd be so delighted by the joy and symmetry of this.”

Roy Weinberger, Lilah’s grandfather, agrees. “We all still carry so many memories of Wendy. She went the extra mile in everything she did, even when she wasn’t feeling her best. She wore tutus to Rock Steady Boxing classes and played the kazoo at Zoom happy hours during the pandemic. Each of our grandchildren have inherited that spark and including her in the celebration shows she’s still very present in our lives.”

Wendy and Roy moved to Charlotte from Georgia soon after Wendy’s Parkinson’s diagnosis to be closer to family, and a friend recommended she see Dr. Iyer at MMC. "You helped make a difficult diagnosis as positive as it possibly could have been,” recalls Laurabree. “We never felt rushed, always felt heard, and always left feeling hopeful. MMC became an extension of our family – it’s so fitting to include this clinic in our celebration.”

For Lilah, this project is the beginning of a lifetime of philanthropy and community involvement. She has simple advice for other young people who want to make a difference: "Start with what you like and what you care about, and just build from there."

Wendy loved a story that came full circle. Years after her diagnosis brought her to MMC, her granddaughter’s mitzvah project brought three generations back together - celebrating Wendy’s legacy of love, connection, and generosity. What a beautiful way to round out a story.