Boca teen uses talents with art and speech to build positive self-images in younger kids
American Heritage School ninth-grader Ayel Morgenstern at home in Boca Raton with several of her paintings. Art and heart are core to her service projects. Tim Stepien/ The Coastal Star
By Faran Fagen
I am unique.
I am loved
I believe in myself.
Don’t give up.
I love myself.
Be positive.
I am enough.
While 15-year-old Ayel Morgenstern cheers them on, students at Pine Grove Elementary School in Delray Beach write positive affirmations and decorate shatterproof mirrors on hand-painted canvases to remind themselves: They are more than enough.
Each student receives a positivity kit, including a Kind bar, affirmation journal, stickers, pens, an inspiring bracelet and custom mirror canvas, giving them tangible tools to reinforce self-compassion long after the session ends.
It’s one of the latest service projects that Ayel, a high school freshman at American Heritage School, has launched in an effort to put more hope into the world.
“The Mirrors of Positivity program equips young leaders to build resilience, practice self-compassion and spread kindness, to create a positive ripple effect in schools, homes and communities,” Ayel said.
The visit to Pine Grove — which has booked Ayel for a return visit — is an example of how the ripples have reached beyond her home city of Boca Raton.
When she was 6, Ayel heard on the news that people had vandalized tombstones at Jewish cemeteries. She wanted to help so she asked her mom, Lauren, for rocks because in the Jewish faith you place a rock on a tombstone when you visit. She hand-painted thousands of rocks, which were sent across the country. Each rock was painted with a lady bug for good luck or a heart for love.
After the Parkland school shootings in 2018, Ayel painted rays of sunlight on benches called “Sunny Seats,” in honor of the 17 slain victims of the massacre. Glitter covers the bench legs, and a beaming sun spills over the tops. “We will dance again,” one bench reads.
Ayel Morgenstern painted Sunny Seats to honor Parkland school massacre victims. She started a nonprofit called The Heartful Hub. Photos provided and by Faran Fagen/The Coastal Star
The 17 original seats were dispersed in the city of Parkland to places like the library and Publix. Now her seats and benches have homes around the country.
Ayel follows the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, or repairing the world.
“My Jewish values are strong and as a young Jewish leader I am determined to not only repair the world but also change the world,” she said.
Currently, she is spearheading two projects for Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. The first initiative is “Wish Upon a Wand” — a little art and a lot of magic.
“I believe art is healing and every patient deserves a little magic, which is why I hand-painted wands with love and attached them to reusable drawing boards for each recipient,” Ayel said. “Every child deserves to be creative and, of course, have a little magic because art is just as powerful as medicine.”
She also painted a triptych panel piece with the phrase “Catch the Love.” Each panel is painted a different color with hearts as a reminder to patients and families that “love is all around them and to never stop catching that love.”
Already in 2026, her more than 700 Sunny Sacks — bright yellow sacks filled with nonperishable items and basic essentials — have reached thousands in the community through donations to the Boynton Beach Soup Kitchen. She enrolled her younger brother, Avi, like her an honors student at American Heritage, in this project.
Lauren Morgenstern says what makes her most proud are not Ayel’s accomplishments but the “love and compassion she brings to everything she does. ... Ayel’s dreams are limitless and she continues to create with such sincere and genuine purpose. Ayel’s journey and her deep commitment to service reflects her maturity beyond her years as she has always been an old soul.“
Lauren often drives Ayel — hovered over homework in the passenger seat — to her projects. Oh, and not to forget: She has two TED Talks under her belt, about following your dreams and making them a reality.
“I believe that every spark and every idea holds potential,” Ayel said. “This potential can be thought of as energy. This energy is just waiting to be transformed into impact. I see my initiatives as potential.”
Ayel will join a Royal Ballet intensive program in London this summer.
Ayel’s first time on stage was through dance, and she still dances competitively and for her school. In February, she was accepted into the 2026 Royal Ballet Summer Intensive Program in London.
Starring on stage served her well in her TED Talks, which the organizing conference distributes online.
In her first talk, in the fifth grade, she shared that all of her ideas start as tiny dots … which grow into connections that are powerful and impactful.
“I shared my story, connected with the audience, and proudly used the microphone because my voice is my power,” Ayel said. “Three years later, I had the honor of being chosen to give my second TED Talk about dreaming big … beyond the possible. Here is the most exciting truth about dreaming big: The world doesn’t just need dreamers — it needs you. Your ideas, passions, quirks and unique perspectives are essential pieces.”
Ayel gave her second TED Talk about a year ago.
As for Mirrors of Positivity, it has already reached more than 125 students and aims to double its impact by the end of 2026, expanding into additional schools and community centers across Palm Beach County. The program debuted in May 2025 at Delray Beach’s Achievement Centers, where it resonated well with the students and staff.
It also resonated with the students at Pine Grove Elementary, where an administrator sent this email after Ayel’s recent visit:
She shared stickers and inspiration during a recent visit to Pine Grove Elementary in Delray Beach.
“The joy and excitement you brought to our students was evident: our students are still talking about your visit and have already been asking when you might be coming back.”
Ayel was impressed with the students.
“They are engaged, ask inquisitive questions and truly value not only what I am sharing, but also what is being given to them,” she said. “At the end of the day, they just need to remember to look at their reflection in the mirror to realize they are more than enough.”
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