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STORIES

Inaugural Meeting of Metropolitan DC Area Chapter

Mar 22, 2010 by Gift of Life News
The Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation unveiled its second chapter on March 11th, at the offices of Begal Enterprises in Rockville, Maryland.  The Metropolitan Washington, DC chapter held its first meeting, as Gift of Life Ambassadors from Northern Virginia, Washington, DC and the surrounding Maryland area were in attendance at the meeting.
 
Under the guidance of Bill Begal, the chapter will concentrate on enhancing awareness of the Gift of Life in the Metropolitan Washington, DC area.  Additionally, the chapter has been charged with organizing recruitment drives in cooperation with synagogues and other community groups, in an effort to expand the donor registry.  Like many national and international organizations, Gift of Life is using the chapter approach to educate, inspire and motivate others to connect to their cause.  In commenting about the newest chapter, Jay Feinberg, Executive Director, stated, “The creation of this chapter is exciting to me because it means that we have a greater opportunity for outreach and to educate people about what we do.  It provides a very personal touch because it is person-to-person contact that will make the registry grow by leaps and bounds.”
 

Mr. Begal opened the meeting by stating that his involvement in the organization reached back more than 15 years when Jay Feinberg, Founder and Executive Director of Gift of Life, was searching for his life-saving donor.  He recounted his journey overseas to organize recruitment drives for Jay.  Since its inception, Gift of Life has greatly improved the likelihood that Jewish patients needing a bone marrow transplant will find a genetic match.

Bill has remained actively committed to the work of Gift of Life and sees the chapter model as the next step in the organization’s growth.  This effort is a result of a need to strengthen Gift of Life’s visibility in local communities and to develop a connection between Gift of Life and other community organizations.  Those attending the meeting agreed his/her most vital responsibility will be to use his/her influence in their neighborhood and personal life to spread the word about Gift of Life.  During the next few months, committee members will be reaching out to their local synagogues and temples, schools and community organizations to solicit interest in a Gift of Life speaker and asking those organizations to consider hosting a drive.  

Joining Mr. Begal in his efforts to form the chapter were Dan Brown, Amy Fishman, Sara Jane Harris, Lisa Horowitz, David Lowenstein, Rochelle Sislen, Jacob Wallace, and David Zack.  For more information about becoming involved in the Metropolitan Washington, DC chapter, please contact Susan Greenspan, Ambassador Program Coordinator, 561-982-2928 or sgreenspan@giftoflife.org.