400 Attend Chabad Cancer Fundraiser

Hundreds of local women gathered in Cedarhurst, Long Island last week to support Circle of Hope, a project of the Merrick-Bellmore-Wantagh Chabad Center for Jewish Life, on Oct. 24.

Circle of Hope is support center for women suffering from breast cancer.

The event, titled “Journey for a Purpose,” featured special guests and award presentations to local survivors and activists. It attracted an estimated 400 women to the Sephardic Temple’s grand ballroom for what organizers described as an entertaining evening for a cause.

Chanie Kramer, Chabad’s program director, said at press time that organizers were yet to finalize their fundraising total. Monies raised will benefit Circle of Hope, which is at 2174 Hewlett Ave. in Merrick. The center was established at the end of last year as a place for local patients and survivors to receive assistance. Kramer said Circle of Hope provides support for patients, their families and the community in the form of financial assistance, emotional support and preventive health seminars.

Breast cancer support groups are also forming at the center. The groups, led by local activist and social worker Jill Levine, are designed to offer a supportive environment for all women who are coping with or have survived breast cancer.

Levine was one of four women honored at “Journey for a Purpose,” as she was given the Community Service Award. Kramer said the group recognized her because of her support for cancer patients and her efforts to save lives by founding Forever 9–the Robbie Levine Foundation.

Levine, who lives in Merrick with her husband, Craig, and their three children, created Forever 9 after their son, Robbie, died of sudden cardiac arrest at his Little League practice on a neighborhood baseball field in 2005. Since then, the Levines have worked to increase awareness of sudden cardiac arrest and provide youth sports fields with automated external defibrillators.

Cindy Knoll and Lisa Fessler, two breast cancer survivors who co-founded the organization and the benefit, were also honored. They were given the Survivor Award.

Knoll said that she and Fessler helped organize the first “Journey for a Purpose” in 2012, which was attended by more than 300 women and generated $55,000 for Circle of Hope. She said she was drawn to work with Chabad on a breast cancer support project after meeting the Kramers.

A Brooklyn native, Knoll has lived in Merrick for 25 years with her husband and three children. She said her family and friends acted as an important support system for her when she was diagnosed with breast cancer 18 years ago. Her experience and recovery led her to take up the Circle of Hope Cause, Kramer said, as she wanted to help women manage their treatment with the least amount of stress and greatest amount of support.

Fessler, a North Bellmore native who now also lives in Merrick, said her experiences after her diagnosis also led her to become involved with the Chabad project. The kindergarten teacher, who was diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago, said she wasn’t aware of the large number of women in her community who had the disease. After seeing a need for the center, Fessler became involved in creating it.

The Youth Courage Award winner, 12-year-old Andie Ofsink, is also a cancer survivor. Ofsink was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive childhood cancer in the form of a tumor behind her eye, in 2008. Because the location of the tumor precluded surgery, Andie immediately proceeded with an aggressive regimen of chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Ofsink is now approaching her five-year anniversary of being cancer free. Kramer said that serving as an example of hope and recovery to others who suffer from cancer has become an important mission in Ofsink’s life.

All four were honored in a ceremony that was just one part of the benefit. In addition to dinner served by Genadeen Caterers, Kramer said, attendees also enjoyed a musical performance by Elizabeth Tasch, a Calhoun High School alumna, an address by Grammy Award winner Gloria Gaynor, a runway show sponsored by Lonny’s Boutique, Let’s Accessorize, Lets Bag I and Beautiful People, as well as a Chinese auction.

In an email to Chabad supporters, Kramer and her husband, Rabbi Shimon Kramer, said they were touched by the volunteers who made the event successful. They also expressed gratitude to the hundreds of attendees who came out to support Circle of Hope.

“We were truly overwhelmed by the number of women who took the night off or left their husbands and families at home –– even when they had to get up early the next morning to go to work –– just to come out to support this great cause,” Chanie Kramer said.