Last year, Nechama Stein, a young lady who relies on her wheelchair for long walks, walked two very difficult laps around the Baltimore Zoo – approximately two miles – on crutches. This May, as an UMBC cardiac ultrasound student, Nechama found it more challenging to train and only walked one lap. Both years, she completed the Jewish Caring Network’s 5K Women’s Care Run to heartwarming cheers from family and friends, who met her (and her wheelchair, which followed her, thanks to yet other friends and family members) at the finish line!
Nechama soon answers the obvious question: Why would she do something so difficult for her? “The Jewish Caring Network bought me an electric scooter when I was younger, to help me get around more easily,” says Nechama. They bought me custom-made Shabbos shoes, and when I had surgery, they were a huge help to the rest of my family. Then, when my father was sick, they also helped out, making sure that we had everything we needed in the house, because my mother was in the hospital with my father. Although, it was more challenging for me to be in the 5K, this year, I wanted to give back what I could to an organization that did so much for me.”
Nechama raised $1,200 through email, Google Group posts, and phone calls. She was just one of the nearly 800 registered participants and 50 loving, dedicated volunteers who helped ensure that the 2015 race was a success. This year’s race was chaired by Phran Edelman, Vicki Reches, and Andrea Schulman. Together with the Men’s 5K Care Run on June 21, chaired by Aryeh Gross, close to $100,000 was raised for the organization.
“JCN supports and helps any Jewish family with illness, from all walks of life,” explains cofounder Keren Traub. “The unity that is felt at the JCN Race/Walk is special. We all know a family in our community that has benefited from the organization, and that’s what makes this event meaningful. It is our biggest fundraiser.”
“We are currently working with approximately 125 families,” notes Stacey Goldenberg, director of operations. “We provide approximately $700,000 in programs and services to our families each year. All the vital services JCN provides are free of charge, and each family’s situation is assessed, allowing us to cater to their specific needs.”
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The top fundraising team this year was “Team Bonnie,” named in the honor of Bonnie Ziman, a 51-year-old stroke patient, who resides in Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital. To date, the team raised $15,633, in great part to the credit of this year’s top fundraising individual, Rochel Ziman, the eldest daughter of Binyamin and Bonnie Ziman. (Her individual total collected was $4,848.) Other top fundraising teams were BT Women Warriors, Gilad – Race/Run/Remember, and Rabbi Goldberger’s shul. Other top fundraising individuals were Chava Schwartz, Dr. Chana Feldman, Rochelle Rubin, and Zakah Glaser.
“The Jewish Caring Network has been the glue that has held my family together for many years,” shared Rochel Ziman. “This year, I set up a page, again, in honor of my mom and eventually ended up with 42 people on my team. I sent out lots of motivating emails. I also had my father email the team link to all his contacts. I took over the Jewish Caring Network Facebook page and created an event page for the Women’s race, posting daily updates and cute memes motivating people to raise money and sponsor others. My main appeal was ‘Every $10 Counts.’
“I also distributed letters to all our neighbors’ mailboxes, and to all the Yeshiva Lane families, in addition to emailing a letter to all of the rabbis in the city, telling them about the race and asking them to speak about JCN. I started raising money in March and worked on it every day. I talked about it every day at work. I went to Shabbos meals just to talk about Jewish Caring Network. After Shabbos, I always got a new sponsor from the people I talked to. They saw my passion.”
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“Run For Ronit” was the second-place team in fundraising, collecting close to $12,000. Daniella Bergman, whose mother Ronit is battling cancer, was the captain of that team, which started as a zechus (merit) for a refua sheleima (complete recovery) for Ronit bas Hadassah Esther.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for my family and me to express our personal hakaras hatov and show our support to the Jewish Caring Network, which has helped us so much during the past few years as we battle cancer as a family,” notes Daniella. “In order to raise money for JCN, and to reach my goal, I sent an email every two to three weeks encouraging my team members to send emails to their families and friends asking them to sponsor by telling them about the organization.”
“Being part of this year’s 5K run brought such positivity to my life,” adds Daniella. “It gave me something worthwhile and valuable to focus on. I’m so happy I was able to give back to JCN by fundraising for the race. I loved being part of our awesome team and such a great organization.”
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“Two years ago my son was born with a congenital heart defect,” explains Shelly, whose Team Shaya raised almost $3,000. “JCN stepped right in to help. The greatest gift we received was the ability for our family to stay together at the Tikva House near Hopkins Hospital on Shabbos and Yom Tov while Shaya spent three months recovering from open heart surgery. My other children had a blast in the playroom filled with toys and games, and my husband and I found comfort with the other families going through similar struggles.
“I cannot imagine having to go through this experience without the support of the Tikva House. And the support of JCN continued after Shaya came home! There are care packages on Yom Tov and birthdays, gift cards to Starbucks before major surgeries and procedures (for those long nights in the hospital), as well as respite retreats for the whole family to unwind and forget about the medical drama for a bit. Stacey and Keren have gone above and beyond and always know exactly what our family needs – even when we don’t know it ourselves!”
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“I was inspired to enter the 5K because I had worked with Stacey on the window treatments for the Tikva House,” explains Rivka Fulda, owner of A Shade Different and a member of ‘The Gud’s’ team of the Agudath Israel Park Heights. “I was exceedingly impressed with the extent to which Stacey went out of her way to ensure that the race be done in the most tznius way possible… Much thought and planning went into which pathways would be used, to make sure they would not be open to publicly traveled roads or even be viewed from them.”
“I was able to raise close to $600,” notes participant, Ruth Berman, whose son has special needs. “JCN has been here for us through thick and thin. Not only are they here for our child when we need them, but they support our family as well. When mothers of special needs children need a break, they provide us with a luxury respite retreat. JCN remembers each sibling by giving them a special treat for their birthday. Each week, our Shabbos is enhanced by their beautiful challa and cookies. JCN helps the family as a whole, and gives them the strength to continue each and every day to care for our special needs child…I loved being part of the race….It brings such a sense of achdus (unity) in Baltimore.”
JCN cofounder, Chaya Drabkin, concurs: “There is an amazing sense of achdus at the 5K. Jewish women of all types are coming together to promote good health and to support the Jewish Caring Network. You get the feeling that the funds raised by these women are not just individual amounts but one huge mitzva done by a cohesive group of 800+ women. The feeling is absolutely electrifying!”
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Adina Michelsohn was so inspired by the fundraising gusto of Rochel Ziman, she spoke about her emotionally exhilarating experience in a post-race letter:
There was a buzz in the air as I approached the zoo entrance and stepped up to collect my zoo admission pass – essentially, a ratty piece of blue paper that served to identify me as a participant at the JCN Women’s 5K. It had no markings save a short strip of numbers – no bar code, no text – but as a volunteer wrapped it around my wrist and taped it up, a surge of emotion suddenly ran through me.
How many times had a receptionist wrapped a band around my wrist over the past years – hospital bands – reducing me to a mere number and a bar code within the vast medical-industrial complex that was the hospital into which I had just been admitted? Every procedure required me to state my name, date of birth, and then to lift my wrist so the band could be checked or swiped. This past Sunday, I was given an ordinary, cheap paper band, but as I lifted my wrist to accept it, I realized how far I had come.
Today, I was not a patient. I was a runner in a Women’s 5K organized to benefit the Jewish Caring Network. I was participating in an event celebrating life, affirming the power of chesed, proving that great things can happen when a formidable group of Jewish women get together to help the Klal. It was hard, but I finished!
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The Races are over, but the greater fundraising goal has not yet been met. You can MAKE A DIFFERENCE! If you would like to make a donation, please partner with JCN and visit their 5K fundraising web pages at: JCN 5K Women’s Care Run, http://wizathon.com/jcn5krun-women/index.php, or JCN 5K Men’s Care Run, http://wizathon.com/jcn5krun-men/
ã Margie Pensak-2015
