Chai Lifeline is a ''
chesed
( he, חֶסֶד, also Romanized: ) is a Hebrew word that means 'kindness or love between people', specifically of the devotional piety of people towards God as well as of love or mercy of God towards humanity. It is frequently used in Psalms i ...
'' organization founded in 1987 by Rabbi Simcha Scholar to help families with "children battling a deadly disease."
Although they have professional staff, much of their work depends on volunteers,
whose ranks include those who, in their younger years, received services and survived.
Their goal is to "restore the light of childhood to children whose innocence ended when life-threatening or lifelong illness was diagnosed."
[
While most Chai Lifeline programs operate year-round, their upstate NY summer program
"for children with catastrophic illnesses" helps "Jewish children from around the world."][(Camp Simcha) ]
History
Scholar's initial guidance was from Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach
Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ( he, שלמה זלמן אויערבאך; July 20, 1910 – February 20, 1995) was a renowned Orthodox Jewish rabbi, posek, and rosh yeshiva of the Kol Torah yeshiva in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem neighborhood Ramat Shlomo i ...
,[ and the focus was Jewish pediatric cancer patients in the NYC area.][ By 1990, they had offices in Florida and Jerusalem, with another planned for California.
Subsequent expansion included services to other major Jewish areas such as
Baltimore]
and the West Coast.
Their Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
office was described as "provides services to .. families of all Jewish denominations" and "depends on foundation and individual donations."
Mission Expansion
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.["About YU]
on the Yeshiva Universit ...
hosted the first university-based Shabbaton to give exposure and training for Chai Lifeline college-age volunteers, under a ''Fighting Illness With Love'' banner. As of 2015 their first (2008) Canadian outreach still seemed limited to Montreal, like Federation CJA
Federation CJA is a Canadian Jewish organization that raises and distributes funds by facilitating and overseeing the delivery of services and programs.
*
History
Federation CJA is one of the oldest Canadian Jewish organizations. CJA was founde ...
, with whom they affiliated. By 2018 the Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
had reported the expansion of ''Chai Lifeline Canada'' to Toronto and somewhat beyond.
By 2012, small scale Chai Lifeline groups had begun in UK and Belgium, with support
from the New York-based main office's professionals.[
]
Services
While not all services were available in all locations as of 2015, some of the programs
offered by a blend of professionals and volunteers are:
*i-Shine: an after-school program for "support to siblings of sick children, children living with an ill parent, and those living with untimely loss in their homes"
Camp Simcha
Camp Simcha[ is a campus located in Glen Spey, NY. NY that offers children with cancer a chance to enjoy traditional camp activities.
Besides mini-golf, arts & crafts workshops, modified sports, color war, and talent shows there are helicopter rides and concerts. An innovative swimming pool ramp and water-submersible wheelchairs enables more children to enjoy swimming. They have a motorboat, paddle and bumper boats, and a pontoon boat capable of holding an entire bunk, including wheelchair-dependent children.
The camp program is directed by Dr. Peter Steinherz and an entire team of oncologists, pediatric oncology nurses, EMTs, social workers and physical therapists. In case of emergencies, an acute transport ambulance is on-site at all times, and accompanies campers on any trips. A Medevac helicopter is on call, and can reach the camp within five minutes.
]
Camp Simcha Special
Camp Simcha Special was created in 2001 to meet the medical and social needs of children and teens with disabilities, chronic diseases, or genetic diseases. Located on the same campus as ''Camp Simcha''. The program is directed by Dr. Robert van Amerongen with a staff of pediatric specialists, nurses, EMTs, social workers and physical therapists.
About
Chai Lifeline trains volunteers.
Project C.H.A.I. Crisis Intervention program ensures that children, their parents, teachers, clergy and communities can properly deal with traumatic events, often partnering with organizations such as Jewish Family & Children's Service of Arizona's Aleinu program and Misaskim
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. Chai Lifeline is funded by Jewish philanthropists and other fundraising receptions. They also receive government funding and grants.
Hospital and home-based services
Advocacy and Case Management – a team of case managers that offer emotional support and information.
Insurance Support Service – Providing general information including: explaining insurance coverage and helping to complete reimbursement applications.
Meal Support – Providing meals to hospitalized patients and their families, many times also supplying food for families with a sick child when cooking is impossible.
Transportation Services – Transportation to and from medical centers and doctors’ appointments.
Chai House – A house located in the close proximity of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is a children's hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with its primary campus located in the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia in the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. The h ...
to accommodate family spending periods of time in the hospital.
Counseling
Chailine Telephone Support Groups – Parents of children with similar prognosis discuss their situations offering support via conference calls facilitated by professional therapists.
Healing Hearts Bereavement Program – Annual weekend retreats and counseling where parents who lost a beloved child are comforted.
Chai Family Centers – Community-based counseling centers help children and parents cope with the impact of illness on their lives.
Short-term counseling – Transient advice for ill children, their parents and/or siblings is available through regional offices.
ChaiNet – A community by and for Chai Lifeline families, Chai Net allows parents to exchange information and support one another in their battles against pediatric illness.
Partnering with Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Susan G. Komen (formerly known as Susan G. Komen for the Cure; originally as The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation; often simply as Komen) is a breast cancer organization in the United States.
Komen focuses on patient navigation and advo ...
Chai Lifeline provides counseling for Jewish women with breast cancer.
Educational assistance
ChaiLink – Webcam connections that link hospitalized or recuperating children to classrooms, teachers, and friends, and loans of laptop computers loaded with educational software.
Homebound Educational Learning Program – A tutoring program that enable hospitalized or recuperating children to keep up with their schoolwork.
Crisis intervention and bereavement services
The New York Times described the organization's ''Brooklyn Tragedy 24 Hour Crisis Intervention Hot Line''
and ''Director of bereavement and intervention services'' Dr. Norman Blumenthal's
made-for-parents video, created after the Murder of Leiby Kletzky
On July 11, 2011, Leiby Kletzky, a Hasidic Jewish boy, was kidnapped as he walked home from his school day camp in the mainly Hasidic neighborhood of Borough Park, Brooklyn in New York City, New York. Kletzky's disappearance sparked an all-ou ...
in New York.
Helping when the focus was beyond children with illnesses included after:
* the India 2008 Mumbai attacks
The 2008 Mumbai attacks (also referred to as 26/11, pronounced "twenty six eleven") were a series of Terrorism, terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist terrorist organisation from P ...
at the Chabad House
* Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...
's devastations on the East Coast in 2012.
* The 2018 Pittsburgh shootings
Trained volunteers offer emotional and professional support.
Trips and vacations
Chai Lifeline arranges trips for children who spend their days in and out of the hospital. Trips involve sporting events, shows, and special trip such as
* a trip to the Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
.
* Orlando Trip – Sponsored by the Ohr Meir foundation, children spend four magical days at Florida's Disney World
The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...
, Universal Studios Florida
Universal Studios Florida (also known as Universal Studios or USF) is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Primarily themed to movies, television and other aspects of the entertainment industry, the park opened to the public on June 7, 1990 ...
, Islands of Adventure
Universal's Islands of Adventure (also known as Islands of Adventure or IOA), originally called Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. It opened on May 28, 1999, along with CityWalk, as part of an ...
, and SeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld Orlando is a theme park and marine zoological park, in Orlando, Florida. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. When combined with its neighbor Discovery Cove and Aquatica, it forms SeaWorld Parks and Resorts Orla ...
theme parks.
* Wish at the Wall – Provides a 10-day trip to Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
for teens along with one parent each; alternating years between a group of teenage cancer survivor
A cancer survivor is a person with cancer of any type who is still living. Whether a person becomes a survivor at the time of diagnosis or after completing treatment, whether people who are actively dying are considered survivors, and whether ...
s and teens who have learned to manage complex chronic illness. In addition, a family center at their ''Camp Simcha'' campus is available to families in need of respite when camp isn't in session.
Fundraising programs
Chai Lifeline is a New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
volunteer-based 501(c)(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...
non-profit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
that primarily works with children battling cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
.
Fundraising programs include
Events include
Affiliates
''Chai Lifeline International'' is an affiliate. One of its programs is named Chaiuanu, and it provides services in Israel.
References
{{Reflist
Jewish medical organizations
Organizations for children with health issues
Health charities in the United States
Patients' organizations
Summer camps for children with special needs