Reflections froma Chai Lifeline volunteer:

If my car could talk, it would probably express some puzzlement at the new routes it has learned to take. It might wonder why it’s seeing so much of places like Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, Mount Sinai, Cornell and the like.It might be especially puzzled because its driver rarely sees the inside of the aforementioned buildings.

The answer is that I have recently become a driver for Chai Lifeline.  Chai Lifeline, as it is well known, is an organization that services families in which a family member is suffering from cancer or other long term illness. Among the myriad of services they provide, one that is less well known is door to door transportation to and from the hospital.

One parent explained it as such: “When a child is sick, beside the emotional turmoil you are thrust into, there are suddenly an overwhelming number of details to be attended to and decisions to be made – which hospital, which doctor, the best course of treatment, how to get to the hospital, who’s going to watch the other kids, what they should eat for dinner… This is where Chai Lifeline steps in.  Although they can’t remove the agony of watching a child suffer, they do everything they can to remove the burden of the superfluous details so you are free to attend to the needs of your child and to those of the rest of the family.  You can’t imagine what a relief it is to know that a car will be waiting for you at your door to take you to the hospital, and another car waiting to take you home.  Not having to deal with parking when you have to get to an appointment for chemotherapy, or driving back home late at night after an exhausting day, or taking a sick child on a train is one less thing to worry about.  It helps to take the edge off the blade.”

Driving for Chai Lifeline is one of the services needed most by this outstanding organization.  And it’s also one of the easiest. Since drivers are needed at almost any hour of the day and night, one can choose the schedule that works best for him/her.  Personally, I like to drive early in the morning, before my day starts. I have a busy schedule and it’s too hard for me to give up my nights or weekends, but an early morning drive doesn’t cut into my day at all and I know I started my day off on the right foot.  Many commuters pick up their “clients” and take them along to the city, making only a slight detour to the hospital on the way to work.  It doesn’t cost anything extra and adds only a few minutes more to the daily commute they are going to do anyway…but the reward is immeasurable.

The rewards are clear and obvious. “I look at my own life so differently after meeting some of these children, and their parents. How much I have to be grateful for!” And the chizuk we receive…I’ve met children and adults who are suffering so greatly but never forget to say thank you and express their gratitude for the service they’ve received, and then give you a bracha for whatever yeshua you might need.

One of my favorite steady passengers was a young sefardi girl and her mother.  Every morning, the mother would call her husband from the car and they would say birchos hashachar out loud, so that each one could answer amen to the other’s bracha. “Do you know the power of an amen?!” she would chide me. “It’s a tremendous zchut! And we need the z’chutim now.  So you give me a bracha now and I’ll give you one too, and we’ll both answer amen.”  I gave her a bracha for a speedy recovery, and she gave me a bracha for a proper shidduch.  (Amen!)

One driver’s husband marveled at the extraordinary kvitzas haderech his wife has experienced.  “My wife was once called for an emergency run over to the hospital not long before Shabbos. She knew she was going to hit heavy traffic as it was smack in the middle of rush hour.  Somehow, though, the roads were clear and she got home in time.”

Other general comments are, “It’s wonderful to have found an avenue to be able to help Klal Yisrael in such a concrete way without a huge commitment or infringement on my schedule or my family’s schedule.” “I travel to the Bronx daily anyway.  How hard is it to take someone along?”  “I’m retired from my full time job – now I have time to fill my days with learning and chesed.” “My children are all in school, I have some free time on my hands. This is a great way to fill it.” “My job requires me to travel in the middle of the day. I always leave late…all I have to do is leave on time and I’m able to make a stop at the hospital.”

Chai Lifeline desperately needs more drivers.  Drivers are needed in Brooklyn, Lakewood, Manhattan, Monsey, Philadelphia and even Boston.
Hersh Moskowitz, Transportation Coordinator at Chai Lifeline, explains it as follows.  “Last week, I had to fill 250 rides. I have 200 drivers. Some drove twice, but not every driver could go last week. How can I fill 250 rides?”

Some drivers are “summer drivers”.  One such volunteer says, “I’m a teacher. I get up early and prepare late at night. I don’t have time to volunteer during the school year, but I’m more than happy to help out during the summer months.” Any time given is appreciated, and no more than what you can do is asked.  When approached about one prospective volunteer, Mr. Moskowitz said, “I don’t care if he can drive once every other month. I’ll find a use for him!”

And that’s the real reason we turn to you. One parent explained, “Chai Lifeline is an army.  The leaders of Chai Lifeline are the generals. The volunteers – the drivers, those that visit the hospital – you are the soldiers in Chai Lifeline’s army.”

 This is an appeal to those of you who would like to contribute to the klal, in a meaningful way that can fit into your daily lives and that will make you part of something so much bigger.  To sign up , or find out more information, call Chai Lifeline at 212-465-1300, or go to www.chailifeline.org.

(YWN Desk – NYC)