By all accounts, Sunday, June 24 was a top ten, beautiful day in Boston, MA- the perfect opportunity to head outside and enjoy life. For members and volunteers of GesherCity Boston, the Greater Boston Jewish Community’s young adult outreach program, it was also the perfect day to host a donor recruitment drive at the Harvard Hillel in Cambridge. Thanks to their enthusiasm, creativity and dedication, this event became much more than a typical donor drive.

According to Chloe Safier, the Young Adult Social Justice Coordinator at the Jewish Community Relations Council, who was the staff coordinator of the event, “we worked with a fantastic team of volunteers months prior to June 24 to create an event that would be both meaningful and enjoyable for our community.”

In addition to the opportunity to join Gift of Life’s registry of donors, attendees were treated to a live musical performance by Golem, a klezmer rock band, as well as free food (including a sundae bar by local favorite, JP Licks) and giveaways. A raffle with prizes such as tickets to Patriots and Red Sox games raised several hundred dollars to be donated to Gift of Life. The event also including heartwarming speeches by local donors and recipients who have been directly touched by Gift of Life’s mission to save lives.   

GesherCity Boston is a non-profit program of the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Boston, in conjunction with the Jewish Community Relations Council, which serves to connect young adults in their early 20's and 30's to the Boston Jewish community. The drive was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Winn Family and was in partnership with the Combined Jewish Philanthropies. It was co-sponsored by several local organizations, including the Jewish Community Relations Council, Harvard Hillel, Havurah on the Hill, Kavod House, Tremont St. 20s and 30s, Tufts Hillel, Workman's Circle, and the Young Leadership Division of Combined Jewish Philanthropies. Nearly two hundred young, healthy donors joined the registry and hundreds more exposed to Gift of Life’s mission. 

Chloe said, “I am amazed and inspired that through the combined efforts of the GesherCity staff, incredible volunteers, partners, co-sponsors, musicians and attendees, we increased the number of Jewish bone marrow donors by a significant amount. I know we have improved the chances that someone whose life depends on a transplant will find a donor, and I hope to hear about a successful match from our drive soon.”

Alison Rosen, Director of GesherCity, said “I'm so proud that GesherCity's Bone Marrow Drive truly felt like a community-wide event. With a number of different young adult organizations working together to reach as many potential donors as possible, we’re proud that our mission of connecting young adults to a variety of events and opportunities could be utilized for such a great cause. We're so grateful for the opportunity to work with Gift of Life, and hope that this event encourages GesherCity programs in other cities to take on similar initiatives.”

To learn how you can run a donor recruitment drive in your community, please contact Gift of Life at 800-9MARROW or email efeinberg@giftoflife.org.

Photography by David Miller