Young singer/songwriter using her talent to help others

AGE:
12
FAMILY:
Parents Renee & Arthur;
sister Jenna (9)
HOBBIES:
Singing, acting, running
FAVORITE MUSICIANS:
Colbie Caillat, Jason Mraz
& Taylor Swift
FAVORITE TV SHOW:
“Degrassi: The Next Generation.”
FAVORITE BOOK:
“The Uglies” by Scott Westerfeld
FAVORITE FOODS:
Pizza and Caesar salad

When Paulina Levner was little, she would hear her mother Renee singing. The young girl wanted to have a beautiful voice just like her mom. Her father Arthur, a computer consultant, liked to write poetry in his spare time.

With those two examples in her life, it wasn’t long before the young Cherry Hill resident started singing and writing her own songs. Today, the outgoing, fun-loving 12-year-old is working with a vocal coach and producer/arranger with an eye towards a career as a singer/songwriter.

“I’ve been writing songs since I was seven years old,” said Paulina. She said that she thinks it would be fun for everyone to hear her music. Paulina, who has a soft, lilting singing voice, currently has four songs on YouTube. They can be heard by going to her YouTube channel— TheCoolGirlWhoSings.

Paulina was inspired to write one of her songs, “Help Them Heal,” by the recent earthquake in Haiti. The chorus of the song goes: “You can make a difference; you can save a life.”

“I want to use my music to help people,” said Paulina, who sings in Cong. Beth El’s “Shir Nefesh” choir. She also is trying out for the talent show at Rosa Middle School, where she is a seventh grader. Proceeds from the talent show will benefit a school in Africa.

Her love of music is also one of the motivations behind Paulina’s bat mitzvah project. Her bat mitzvah is coming up on May 1.

When she was in Florida visiting her grandparents, she learned about Jewish Adoption and Foster Care Options (JAFCO), a village for abused and abandoned Jewish children. “I’m going to raise money and help the kids get music lessons,” said Paulina. She has planned a fundraiser on Apr. 11 to benefit JAFCO.

Paulina said that when she learned about JAFCO, she was saddened by the plight of the children who live there. “I’m really privileged because I have a family who loves me,” she said. Paulina added that many of the kids who live at the village have no one.

When she is not singing, running cross country at school, or doing things with her friends, Paulina helps her mother as a volunteer for Hadassah. Renee Levner, who owns I WISH U WISH, a party consulting and invitation business, is president of the Raquela Group of Hadassah.

“I like to help other people,” said Paulina. “It gives you that feeling of satisfaction that you did good for someone else.” .