RCCS Comes to the Rescue in Crown Heights

BROOKLYN, NY [CHI] — Rofeh Cholim Cancer Society (known as RCCS) is operating in the community of Crown Heights and provides for a litany of needs for cancer patients. Unfortunately, in the last couple of months, Crown Heights has seen a dramatic increase of cancer cases.

RCCS, a Brooklyn based not-for-profit organization, helps cancer patients pay for medical insurance and provides research for treatments. It was founded after requests were made in the community for such an organization.

“It’s been 5 years since we received the first call from Crown Heights, and we are now inundated with requests,” said Hershel Kohn, president and founder of RCCS.

In the last year alone, according to the organization, 12 applications have been registered from Crown Heights, and the number of patients covered by the RCCS in Crown Heights is now reaching 30.

“Our community needs help and we are here,” said Mendy Coen, RCCS Development Director, who joined the organization after the passing of his father-in-law from a rare form of cancer. According to Coen, the increase of cancer cases is striking in the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn, home of the worldwide Lubavitch community.

“We are a blessed community; the Rebbe called our neighborhood, Kan Tzivah Hashem Es Habracha (literally, here the blessing was directed). So why do we have such a crisis? I don’t know, but we have within us the solution. Thanks to the residents of the community and their generosity, we are able to see people recover” said Coen.

With a budget of close to 4 million dollars, RCCS raises money through community events to subsidize the insurance premiums. Paying insurance premiums for families that can’t afford them is not an easy task; but the premiums must be paid on time to avoid cancellation notices.

The results are promising. Last year, RCCS celebrated 36 thanksgiving celebrations of patients who fully recovered.

For more information about RCCS and their services, visit www.rofehcholim.org.