VI. Refuah Shelaymah: Recovery From Illness

A. Books, Bears, & Bonnets ($3,000)

Merrily Ansell’s personal experiences with cancer and its effects on not only the patient but also the family were the impetus for founding this special program. Merrily’s sister, Emily, died after a long fight with cancer and Merrily never forgot the hours she spent with her while she underwent chemotherapy treatments. When Emily died, Merrily vowed to do something meaningful to keep her sister’s memory alive. And so, Books, Bears & Bonnets (BBB) was born. Remembering those long hours, the inevitable hair loss that sometimes seemed worse than the actual disease, and the sadness that accompanies devastating illness, Merrily decided that a box filled with a soft cuddly teddy bear to hold and snuggle, an attractive cap to cover hair loss, an age-appropriate book to break up the boredom, and a personal note of hope were just what the doctor ordered. After calling many hospitals in the Washington, DC, area, Merrily had positive responses from all of them. And with that, Books, Bears & Bonnets was born. Today, there are 17 hospitals — mostly in the DC/Baltimore area — that have BBB programs. The cost of each box is $10. This is a great project for religious schools and synagogue Mitzvah committees.

[Books, Bears & Bonnets, Merrily Ansell, 10844 Antigua Terrace, #103, N. Bethesda, MD 20852, 301-881-2883, mailto:manmd@starpower.net, www.booksbearsbonnets.org.]

B. Be a Clown ($2,119)

It takes some training to be a Mitzvah clown…along with good make-up and a colorful costume. For Mike and Sue Turk, a.k.a. Buttercup and Sweetpea, it all comes so naturally. They look like they were born to do this special work. Over the past few years, we have watched as they expand their program teaching this special talent to kids and adults all over the country. Wherever they go, they leave behind a fabulous asset in the community. At their first appearance last summer at the CAJE (Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education) Conference, the clowns were an instant success. By the close of the conference, wherever you turned you saw a new clown….It seemed as if the educators who took their training never wanted to return to their “normal” life! We are thrilled that this special talent that fulfills the Mitzvah of Bikkur Cholim has become such a popular activity. It can only bring smiles to everyone involved.

[Mike and Sue Turk, 11 Mohawk Road, Short Hills, NJ  07078, 973-467-2768, fax: 376-5118, mailto:sbclowns@aol.com, www.mitzvahclowns.com.]

C. Dressing Up ($1,550)

We continue to be impressed with the work of Emily Spivack and her organization, Shop Well With You. Due to her mother’s long battle with cancer, Emily knew first hand that how a woman dressed could determine to a great extent just how a woman felt about herself and her body. Many times women undergoing treatment for cancer must endure body-changing procedures that make the proper fitting of clothes a sometimes-difficult problem. How you overcome these problems and gain self-confidence and renew your sense of wellbeing is the mission of Shop Well With You. Over the past year, SWY has worked with over 135 women, trained in-store personal shoppers at several of New York’s major department stores, and held a fashion show with several cancer survivors as models. They also presented programs in conjunction with the famous Gilda’s Club. Our support for Emily’s work included funds for the development and upgrading of the organization’s website.

[Shop Well With You, Emily Spivack, 99 Hudson Street, #12R New York, NY 10013, 212-966-2500x339, mailto:Emily@shopwellwithyou.org, www.shopwellwithyou.org.]

D. Welcome to My Home ($1,500)

When you hear Michael Aichenbaum tell the story of Hosts for Hospitals, you cannot help but be impressed and moved by his determination to solve what is often a difficult problem. Speaking at our Raleigh-Durham Mitzvah Heroes Conference this winter, Mike shared the poignant story of his sudden diagnosis of cancer and the long battle he fought to recover. A resident of Michigan at the time, Mike sought treatment at a major New York medical center. While Mike remained in the hospital for several months, his family was forced to spend tens of thousands of dollars for housing so that they could remain at his side and help in his recovery. Mike soon realized that his experience was not unusual and in the year 2000 joined forces with another cancer survivor with a similar experience, to form Hosts for Hospitals.

HfH provides free or low-cost placement in private homes for families coming to the Philadelphia area for treatment of a loved one. Based upon the model of Boston’s Hospitality House, Mike’s group has provided more than 5,000 nights of lodging for approximately 200 guest families. The impressive savings? An estimated $307,000 in equivalent hotel expenses!

[Hosts for Hospitals, Michael Aichenbaum, 300 N. Highland Ave, Merion, PA 19066, 610-660-6667, fax: 617-3659, mailto:HfHospitals@aol.com, www.hostsforhospitals.org.]

E. “Feel-Good” Therapy ($850)

The idea behind Volunteers in Psychotherapy (VIP) is quite simple but also rather profound. Founded in response to the increase in managed care and its accompanying financial limitations and privacy concerns, VIP offers patients private therapy in return for a nominal fee and time donated as a volunteer in some Mitzvah organization. The brainchild of Dr. Richard Shulman, the Connecticut-based program requires its clients to donate four hours of volunteer work for every hour of private therapy. By this past September, that translated into approximately 800 therapy sessions and close to 3,200 hours of volunteer work in the community. We are impressed with the work Dr. Shulman and his staff have accomplished. We find VIP to be both creative and meaningful in its quest to assure privacy for psychotherapy patients.

[Volunteers in Psychotherapy, Inc., Richard Shulman, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist, Director, 7 South Main Street, West Hartford, CT 06107, 860-233-5115, mailto:ctvip@hotmail.com, www.CTVIP.org.]

F. Mitzvah Fishing ($250)

Casting for Recovery was founded by two women — one, a famous fly-fishing instructor, and the other, an expert in breast reconstructive surgery, treatment and recovery. Fly-fishing is beneficial to women recovering from breast cancer for many reasons beyond the important physical exercise, including the peace-of-mind made possible by a beautiful weekend in the midst of nature. 

A CFR retreat is a perfect prescription for a breast cancer survivor. We recommend you check its website to see where retreats will be offered in the coming months — in 2002, they conducted 20 retreats with 300 women participating. In 2003, the goal is to hold 27 retreats to serve 350 women — which will mean that 1,200 women will have benefited from CFR by the end of the year since CFR’s founding in 1996. This, besides 400 volunteers across the county working to spread the word about their fine Mitzvah work.

One personal testimony from a future retreat participant expresses the incredible power of this Mitzvah project:

....today my surgeon gave me a (thumbs up) on my six month check-up. While I was still in his office my medical release form and registration was faxed for the Casting for Recovery retreat held at Skytop this fall....

You are totally unaware of how excited and grateful I am to be attending this unique (for me) autumn event! What a gift to me. I am so happy and so proud to be included in this group of breast cancer survivors. Ever since reading about this retreat in the Orvis catalog my heart was set on going.

This retreat could be the culmination of my breast cancer journey. It may make me more aware of the metamorphosis I am going through. There is much reflection & self discovery along this route. Wow -  journey, metamorphosis, route -  I am really on the move! Believe me, I am still pushing forward one step at a time. Maybe the retreat will bring a time of closure. I am open for whatever happens!!

Let me thank you at this time for being a part of the Casting For Recovery team. I think you all must be helping so many women. All women are magnificent! CFR signifies healing and rebirth. A million thanks to all on the CFR team.

                                                Sincerely, Sharon

We urge you to tell your personal physician or other medical personnel about this unique and highly-effective therapy.

Please note: Men who enjoy fly-fishing, contact Seline at CFR to see how — even though the retreats are for women only — you can help with this project.

Our donation was used for scholarships for the retreats. 

[Casting for Recovery, PO Box 1123, Manchester, VT  05254 (street address: 3952 Main Street), Attn: Seline Skoug, toll-free phone: 888-553-3500 or 802-362-9181, fax: 802-362-9182, mailto:cfrprogram@aol.com, www.castingforrecovery.org.]

G. Whoever Saves a Life… ($3,300)

Jay Feinberg’s battle to save his life started 12 years ago when he was diagnosed with leukemia. What should have been the start of a brilliant career and life-after-graduation-from-college turned into a quest that guided Jay and his family as they searched for the perfect genetic match for his bone marrow transplant. It was only after holding dozens of drives and raising millions of dollars for the cause that Jay himself found a match and underwent a transplant in 1995.

Today, that quest has transformed itself into an international organization that assists individuals diagnosed with leukemia and related diseases and raises awareness among the world’s Jewish population. The assistance comes in many different forms — conducting bone marrow drives, searching the international bone marrow databases for potential donors, emotional support…whatever it takes to get the job done. Gift of Life’s Mitzvah work is a powerful example of saving lives, Pikuach Nefesh, having produced well over 500 matches since Jay and his family and staff began this holy endeavor.

Our donation was once again used to re-test samples taken years ago with new, more sophisticated procedures. This simple procedure has produced even more critical matches.

[Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation, Inc., 7700 Congress Ave., Suite 2201, Boca Raton, FL 33487, 800-9-MARROW (962-7769), 561-988-0100, fax: 800-707-5343, mailto:info@giftoflife.org, www.giftoflife.org.]

H. Different Leftovers ($250)

Brainchild of Yale-New Haven Hospital’s anesthesiologist Dr. William Rosenblatt, REMEDY’s Mitzvah reach is enormous. Distressed that during the course of a routine surgical procedure, many pieces of medical equipment are prepared but never used, Dr. Rosenblatt set up the paradigm-program for retrieving the materials, packaging them, and, in partnerships with hundreds of US charities around the world, shipping them where these items are so desperately needed. (US liability laws require that they not be restocked despite the fact that they are perfectly safe and usable.) Now there are nearly 300 hospitals across the country involved in REMEDY’s program. If you are a physician or nurse, call REMEDY to learn just how easy it is.

Our contribution was used toward production costs of the first issue of the REMEDY Atlas. The Atlas, a minimal-language photo catalog of 220 items most often recovered in US hospitals, will be an invaluable resource to donor and potential-donor hospitals.

[REMEDY, 3 TMP, 333 Cedar St., POB 208051, New Haven, CT  06520-8051, 203-737-5356, fax: 785-6664, Attn: Emmy Riccio, mailto:remedy@yale.edu, www.remedyinc.org.]

I. More Different Leftovers ($1,000)

Liisa Nenonen continues her important work retrieving and providing critical health care items to people who need them. A surgical nurse by profession, Liisa observed the waste and inequities in health care that didn’t make sense and then set out to correct them. Among her many projects: (1) canes, walkers, wheelchairs and similar items — they often just sit in a closet or garage when no longer in use. She accepts them as donations and then redistributes them to people in need; (2) obtaining usable, useful items left after an operation that are normally thrown away — she has them shipped to Third World Countries [see REMEDY’s program, immediately above]; and (3) packaging materials of other miscellaneous operating room items — she redistributes to schools as art supplies.

This is, once again, an easily-duplicated project just waiting for someone else to adopt in another community.

[Liisa Nenonen, RACORSE Network, 385 Jayne Ave., #401, Oakland, CA  94610, 510-832-2868, L_nenonen@yahoo.com.]

J. Israel AIDS Task Force ($81,750)

The devastation and discrimination that accompany HIV/AIDS have not disappeared despite the seeming slowdown in the spread of this disease. The Israel AIDS Task Force has been in the forefront of this battle since the beginning. Aside from very important personal support for victims of the disease as well as their families, the IATF has been Israel’s main source of education in the prevention and understanding of HIV/AIDS. Their work includes a hotline service, clinics for anonymous testing, educational workshops, informative literature in several languages, psychological counseling for individuals living with HIV/AIDS, legal aid and many other critical support services. A significant portion of our donation this year was donor advised and used for the group’s ongoing AIDS Awareness Week.

[Israel Aids Task Force, Ori Ginat, PO Box 4071, Geula St. 10a, Tel Aviv, Israel 61040, 03-510-0520, fax: 03-516-1947, mailto:ori@aidsisrael.org.il, www.aids.co.il.]

K. Advocates For The Jewish Mentally Ill (AJMI) ($750)

Beulah Saideman is the driving force behind this Pennsylvania-based organization that is devoted to the re-integration and socialization of Jewish people experiencing and recovering from mental illness. Often forgotten by the established Jewish community, mentally ill people can lead “normal” [by all accounts a bad, insufficient term] lives with the use of medications and therapy. What is missing from their lives, though, is socialization and independent living and that is what AJMI’s Tikvah program provides. Our gift this year went towards a bowling party for AJMI’s participants.

[Advocates for the Jewish Mentally Ill, Beulah Saideman, PO Box 561, Abington, PA 19001, 215-545-8610, BeulahSaid@aol.com.]

L. Hats On! ($180)*

Eileen Elkin custom-designs hats for people who are losing their hair through cancer therapies. Armed with a multitude of hats and an unbelievable array of attachable design materials, she works with the individuals to make a hat that will make them feel good…and dignified. Our donation was used to purchase a Polaroid camera and film to take pictures for the recipients of these wonderful hats — an extra touch that makes this Mitzvah even more special.

[Eileen Elkin, 29 Forest View Way, Ormond Beach, FL  32174, 386-673-5509, hatladydb@aol.com.]

M. A Young Doctor, A Need, A New Free Clinic ($250)*

After Dr. Robin Lowitz realized that many people in her community were without medical insurance, she decided to do something about it. The result: Jewish Community Free Clinic of Sonoma County, north of San Francisco. This free-standing clinic is a grassroots, all-volunteer effort to provide medical care for many people who would otherwise go without even the most basic treatment.

Our donation was used to buy essential medical supplies.

[Jewish Community Free Clinic, c/o Robin A. Lowitz, M.D., 708 Gravenstein Highway North, #63, Sebastopol, CA  95472, 707-792-1932, fax: 208-445-1754, mailto:info@jewishfreeclinic.org, www.jewishfreeclinic.org.]

N. Recovery Jewishly: Beit T’Shuvah ($450)

Rabbi Mark Borovitz’s special talents lie in working with Jews recovering from substance abuse, or who have been jailed for various reasons. Far too often, Jews in this situation have no Jewish place to turn to. Beit T’Shuvah is the answer for them. This program offers love, respect and a firm hand — all with a Jewish touch. Our Tzedakah money was used to purchase Rabbi Abraham Twersky’s excellent books about recovery, spiritual wellbeing, and a return to Jewish life at its best.

 [Beit T’Shuvah, Rabbi Mark Borovitz, 8831 Venice Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90034, 310-204-5200, fax: 204-8908, mailto:info@beittshuvahla.org, www.beittshuvahla.org.]

O. Working the Genetic Link  ($250)*

We are all aware of the many congenital diseases which specifically afflict people of Jewish ancestry. This past year we became aware of one more of these little-known but serious conditions — Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH). Not one specific disorder, CAH is a family of inherited disorders affecting the adrenal gland. In some of its forms, it may affect 1 in 27 Ashkenazi Jews.

Kelly Leight is the mother of a child who was diagnosed with this disorder at the age of 7. At the time there were few resources available to her as she made her way through the medical maze. It was from that personal experience that CARES developed. We were happy to provide this young organization with funds to print informative brochures as they seek to spread awareness of this little-known condition.

[CARES Foundation, Inc.(Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia Research, Education and Support), Kelly Leight, Executive Director, 11 Hardwell Road, Short Hills, NJ 07078, 973-912-3895, 866-227-3737 (toll free), mailto:kelly@caresfoundation.org, www.caresfoundation.org.]

We remind everyone of the fine work being carried out by Yad Sarah, Israel’s largest volunteer organization that lends medical equipment throughout the country free of charge. We highly recommend a visit when you are in Jerusalem. It is a fascinating Mitzvah endeavor, and you can even assemble a walker or wheelchair on your tour.

[Yad Sarah, 124 Herzl Blvd., Jerusalem, phone: 02-644-4444, fax: 02-624-4425, info@yadsarah.org.il, www.yadsarah.org.il. Tax-deductible contributions: Friends of Yad Sarah, Inc., One Parker Plaza, #1450, Ft. Lee, NJ  07024, 201-944-7920, fax: 944-5937.]