In 2002, families of the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway (HAFTR) in Long Island, NY became involved in a special mission to save a life. Together with Gift of Life, HAFTR parents organized a recruitment campaign to find a genetically matched bone marrow donor for Dr. Barry Mishkin, z”l, who was suffering from leukemia. Not surprisingly, the HAFTR and surrounding Five Towns community enthusiastically embraced the unique opportunity to try and save a life, and the resulting campaign, spearheaded by Dr. Mishkin’s brother-in-law, Jonathan Nierenberg, Co-Chair of the HAFTR school board, resulted in the addition of nearly 2,500 new donors to Gift of Life’s registry in just a few days.
Sadly, Dr. Mishkin did not survive his illness, but the effort to save him was not in vain. From just one donor drive held at HAFTR, an incredible 15 donors have gone on to give their bone marrow and facilitate life-saving transplants for other patients in similar need around the world. The special community has continued to support Gift of Life’s mission, as more and more donors step forward to save lives.
In recognition of their incredible accomplishment and the community’s ongoing dedication to Gift of Life’s mission, Gift of Life was pleased to present HAFTR with the 2007 Community Service Award at the recent Partners for Life gala. A few weeks before the gala, Gift of Life hosted a donor appreciation luncheon on April 22 at Off the Grill, a kosher restaurant in Cedarhurst, NY. The luncheon was a wonderful opportunity to join together these donors and their families, most of whom live a very short distance from one another. The event was attended by donors Stewart Daniel, Sruli Greenberger, Shlomo Hackel, Philip Hirth, Stanley Klein, Dr. Adam Lish, Mark Reinharz, as well as Dr. Mishkin’s brother-in-law, Jonathan Nierenberg and their families.
In welcoming the guests, Jay Feinberg said, “There are heroes in this room. They’re the heroes that fuel this entire organization.”
Each of the donors had the opportunity to share their individual donation experiences. Dr. Adam Lish, who is Chairman of the HAFTR Board of Education, donated bone marrow four years ago to an 8 year old boy named Brian. It was a life-changing experience for him and his family, especially when he met his recipient at a special event hosted at Shea Stadium on Jewish Heritage Day one year later. Dr. Lish said, “Every day I go to work, and I help people see.” He continued, “If I don’t show up to work, someone else is available to take care of my patients, and they get the mitzvah of helping someone. But donating bone marrow was the one opportunity I had where I was the only person who could perform this mitzvah. I was the only person who could help that young man live.”
Stewart Daniel, who had donated on erev Pesach just two and a half weeks prior to the luncheon, was proud to share his story. “We got the call, and I was the one who was hesitant,” said Stewart’s wife, Elise. “He faints when he gives blood!” Stewart reflected on his experience as he gathered with his family for the seder that evening and explained, “We can teach our children by showing them what chesed really is.”
Shlomo Hackel, who was set to meet his recipient at the Partners for Life gala in just a few weeks said, “I was not at all hesitant. It was an easy, simple procedure, and the Gift of Life staff made it as convenient as possible.”
Many of the donors stressed how important it was to show their children pure, active chesed and compassion.
Most of the donors in the room have not yet met their recipients, including Stanley Klein, who donated six months ago. He said that he looks forward to finally meeting the person he was able to save, and that once he does, “it will be the icing on the cake.” He echoed a sentiment that was expressed by most of the donors when he said, “It is a gift from G-d that we are able to do this. G-d gives us the ability to do tzedakah. This is no different. It’s a wonderful feeling to know you’ve done the ultimate.”
The luncheon was a welcome opportunity to gather in a casual setting with family and friends, and reflect on the wonderful act of saving lives. Jay said, “We don’t want the relationship with our donors to end after donation. Our donors represent our best opportunity to help motivate others and serve as role models in their communities.” Gift of Life plans to hold future donor appreciation events in many other communities where donors are clustered, and hopes to establish a Speakers Bureau, comprised of donors and volunteers who are willing to speak about their experiences. If you would like more information about the Speakers Bureau, please call 800-9MARROW and speak to someone in the Marketing & Communications Department.