In a generous display of maturity and sympathy, one Jewish boy made his first deed as a man in his faith a great act of charity. Joshua Neidorf, a 13-year-old boy from Los Angeles, donated most of his birthday money to Operation Mend, a program that reconstructs the faces of severely burned U. S. veterans . The young man decided to donate his money after getting to know Army Sgt. Louis Dahlman, who was undergoing a series of reconstruction surgeries at UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles) thanks to Operation Mend. The Neidorfs had signed up to be Dahlman's "buddy family", spending time with him whenever he visited Los Angeles for a surgery. "I just love knowing that it's going somewhere...to help the people who save our lives and keep us safe every day," said Neidorf. His mother added, "It makes me feel like our world is going in a good direction with this next generation." In all, Neidorf gave $13,000 to Operation Mend. He also encouraged his friends to donate to the cause. He is the organization's youngest donor so far. Operation Mend is a privately funded program that works in partnership with the UCLA Medical Center. Ron Katz, a board member at the hospital, started the program in 2006 after seeing a TV programme about Aaron Mankin, a veteran who had gone through dozens of surgeries after a fight in Iraq which completely burned off his face. Mankin ended up being Operation Mend's first patient, starting the first of 20 reconstructive facial surgeries at UCLA in Sept. 2007. In a 2011 interview, Katz shared how his experience of helping Mankin made him realize the need to establish a more permanent program. "My wife and I soon realized that there were dozens of Aarons out there," Katz said. "They deserve the best that we offer them." Operation Mend was founded after   _  .
Neidorf donated part of his birthday money the Neidorfs signed up to be Dahlman's "buddy family" Ron Katz saw a TV programme about a veteran Mankin was successfully operated on at UCLA