Danny Hoffman would have been proud of his son.
For his bar mitzvah tzedakah project, 12-year-old Ian Hoffman organized an elaborate fund-raiser/arts festival at El Cerrito’s Tehiyah Day School gym, held Sunday, Aug. 28.
Danny Hoffman wasn’t there to see his son’s handiwork. Plagued with mental illness, the elder Hoffman, 44, took his own life last December, leaving behind three young children.
Despite the personal catastrophe, Ian chose to honor his father’s memory by staging the fund-raiser, with all proceeds going to the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI).
“I got a lot of help,” said the Tehiyah seventh-grader. “I had two professional artists help me weed out the stuff worth selling from the stuff not worth selling.”
Even with such a sad background, the event was an upbeat affair. A jazz band grooved while attendees (a few hundred in all) perused an eclectic assortment of artwork for sale. Kids noshed on carrots, Cheese Nips and bagels, while their parents sipped from bottles of He’Brew Beer. Many knew the Hoffman family, and all were impressed with Ian’s poise.
“He’s a remarkable, bright sensitive kid,” said Leslie Crary of Berkeley, Tehiyah board president and a friend of the family. “He has his father’s gift for getting people involved. It’s a pretty amazing effort.”
Added Heftsi Assaf, Ian’s bar mitzvah tutor, “Every kid I tutor must do a tzedakah project. He knew what he wanted to do: something for the mentally ill.”
On a table in the back, Ian displayed photos of his dad, smiling and appearing happy. Though Danny Hoffman was a well-liked member of the Jewish community and adored by his family, he suffered from depression and bipolar disorder.
“During his father’s sickness, Ian asked a lot of questions,” recalled Ian’s mother Carol Greenberg, a Berkeley-based attorney. “He seemed to understand his dad was not acting normally. His death was a shock to everybody.”
Last Dec. 9, Danny Hoffman committed suicide by throwing himself off a seaside cliff called Devil’s Slide at Half Moon Bay.
In the months that followed, says Greenberg, her three children coped with the trauma each in their own ways. For Ian, sessions at Circle of Care, an Oakland-based social service agency for children, and time spent researching mental illness was the best therapy.
Once he made up his mind to mount the fund-raiser, he took charge. “Ian made every call, led every meeting, picked the charity and wrote his own speech” said his mother. “He’s very confident and very comfortable working with adults.”
After the jazz band concluded its set, Ian spoke to the crowd, sharing some of what he’d learned about bipolar disease and treatment for the condition. “My father suffered for three years,” he said, noting the feelings of “hopelessness and helplessness” that come with the territory.
Shortly after that, he and his band — temporarily calling themselves Jumbo Shrimp — performed their own version of “Lean on Me,” with Ian on bass.
They drew a rousing ovation.
Noted Bay Area Jewish storyteller Joel Ben Izzy entertained the crowd with several tales from his vast repertoire, most centered on the theme of overcoming adversity.
As the event wound down, Claire Sylvia of Berkeley, whose son joined Ian in the band, said, “This was an incredible thing for a 12-year-old to do. He really pulled it together.”
Added Assaf, “Many kids would be ashamed if this had happened to them, but Ian outdid himself by doing the opposite. What a beautiful way to mourn.”