 | | The CMC Mitzvah Gram
Volume 10, Issue 6 // Iyar 5780 // May 2020 | | UPDATED: CMC'S RESPONSE TO COVID-19
As the COVID-19-related shutdown continues to keep people at home, CMC continues to help support the essential physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of hundreds of isolated seniors and quarantined patients. Below is a list of CMC accomplishments and continued services to help seniors and quarantined patients during the COVID-19 crisis:
ESSENTIAL PHYSICAL NEEDS
Shopping and Delivery: From the beginning of the Covid-19 shutdown, CMC has run errands and shopped and delivered well over 400 orders to hundreds of seniors and quarantined patients in the community. CMC continues to run errands and shop and deliver food, medications, and other essential items from local stores (including Jewel-Osco, Kol Tuv, Hungarian, and other local produce stores and pharmacies). Special thanks to Jewel for making additional accommodations for CMC's shopping service, including holding filled shopping orders in the refrigerator, and making available a no-wait cashier lane.
Meals for Shabbat and Yom Tov: Since the beginning of the Covid-19 shutdown, CMC has prepared and delivered over 2,000 fresh-cooked, special meals for Shabbat and Yom Tov (including more than 1,000 Pesach meals) to seniors and quarantined patients in the community. For the upcoming holiday of Shavuot, CMC is preparing to deliver freshly-cooked dairy, fish and chicken meals. We have already received requests for many hundreds of these fresh-cooked Shavuot meals, and we are still anticipating hundreds more.
To submit a request for fresh-cooked Shavuot meals (or weekly Shabbat meals), please call CMC as soon as possible.
Transportation: Throughout the Covid-19 crisis, CMC continues to provide medicar transportation for patients, with rigorous social distancing protocols in place, and for essential medical appointments only. (See story on page 3.)
Running Errands: CMC is offering to help senior and quarantined patients with running errands such as going to the post-office, bank, etc.
Online Assistance: CMC is also offering to assist seniors with online shopping, and with paying their bills online or by telephone.
Advocacy and Support: During the Covid-19 crisis, CMC is assisting seniors to navigate the changing landscape of expanded services provided by government and community agencies.
ESSENTIAL SPIRITUAL AND EMOTIONAL NEEDS
Daily Torah Classes: In response to the Covid-19 crisis, CMC has added new offerings to our schedule (see separate section below in this newsletter) of daily Torah classes that we make freely available to anybody who wishes to participate. Moreover, there are now two ways in which each class can be accessed, by telephone conference call, and/or by "Zoom" video conferencing. Both methods are completely free services that incur no charges to use. For detailed instructions, see the separate section below in this newsletter.
Telephone Reassurance: Throughout the Covid-19 shutdown, CMC continues to make regular phone calls to monitor the wellbeing of approximately 300 vulnerable seniors isolated in their homes. In addition to providing emotional warmth and friendship, these phone calls often discover serious challenges, including: lack of family or others who can assist with daily chores; inadequate access to food, hot meals or essential supplies; elderly seniors driving or going to stores during this dangerous pandemic; loneliness and depression caused by social isolation; lack of hygiene and sanitation. CMC helps seniors accept crucial services from CMC and other government and community agencies, thereby improving their safety and quality of life during this challenging time.
| CMC SAVES SENIOR PATIENT FROM COVID-19-RELATED CRISIS
With Testimony From Family Member, R' Nosson Lederer
Approximately two decades ago, Rabbi Micha Gruber (name printed with permission) became the fortunate and grateful recipient of a successful liver transplant. Sixteen years later, however, challenging complications arose. Consequently, Rabbi Gruber was recommended to receive highly-specialized and sophisticated "ERCP" liver treatments at the world-renowned Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.
Thus, throughout the last three years, Rabbi and Mrs. Gruber have made round-trip flights every 6-7 weeks from Chicago to the Mayo Clinic to receive these life-saving treatments. While the constant cycles of grueling travel and ERCP treatments always leave Rabbi Gruber - at least temporarily - physically drained and weak, without them he would simply be unable to function properly.
Recently, a serious dilemma arose. In the words of Rabbi Gruber's son in-law, R' Nosson Lederer:
"My father in-law needed a vital procedure at Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN. But with Covid-19 quickly spreading in Ilinois and especially in Chicago, traveling by air as usual was simply out of the question. Being a post-liver transplant patient with a delicate immune system, extreme caution was needed to avoid exposure. Transport by ambulance for the long drive was also not an option, due to the fact that it involved crossing state lines and would also be very cost-prohibitive."
Thankfully however, there was an unexpected Divine plan at play, and by the grace of Divine Providence, CMC merited to be the instrument of Rabbi Gruber's redemption from this very challenging and difficult predicament. For the remainder of the story we return to the words of R' Nosson: "We turned to Rabbi Aron Wolf, founder and head of CMC. Now, this request was for a daunting task that required four full days of assistance, so although I know Rabbi Wolf is a man who does not have the word "NO" in his vocabulary when it comes to helping others, nevertheless, at this time I fully expected a response of, "Let's see if we can do it," or "Please call me back," etc. Therefore, Rabbi Wolf's immediate reply caught me completely by surprise. "We will do it!" he exclaimed.
I quickly learned that nothing is insurmountable at CMC when it comes to a chesed. I felt that CMC had joined our team, and their only concern was how to accomplish the trip in the safest and best way possible.
About a week later, Rabbi Wolf provided one of CMC's beautiful vans and a wonderful fellow who not only drove my father in-law the six hours to Mayo Clinic and the six hours back, but also stayed with him from Sunday through Wednesday, taking care of him as if he were family.
Indeed, when it comes to helping others, Rabbi Wolf and his amazing organization are saving lives and reminding us that all Yidden are one extended family.
Tizku l'mitzvos and thank you from our entire mishpacha."
At the risk of stating the obvious, we are currently living in unusual times, with an unprecedented crisis raising challenges that are as unique as they are unanticipated in their breadth and scope. However, as the story above demonstrates, the CMC is determined to be resourceful, creative and dynamic in our response to these challenges. If any patient in the community is facing a predicament comparable to that of Rabbi Gruber, please let us know. With G-d's help we will do everything in our power to provide (or help arrange) the needed assistance and/or resources.
| CMC RECEIVES COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO BATTLE COVID-19 CRISIS
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RECENT QUOTES
| | "Thank you, Rabbi! Because of this coronavirus situation I actually can't remember the last time I had a really good bowl of chicken soup, or even any soup at all... The soup you gave me and especially the kneidel was absolutely delicious!" | | "Your phone calls are so uplifting for me, and especially since I haven't been able to hug my kids or grandkids for the last 8 weeks!" | | "Thanks so much for shopping at Jewel for me and delivering all the bags to my door. It's so reassuring that thanks to CMC, I'm not forced to go to the grocery store and take a risk of catching the virus." | | "It was 3pm when you called, and all I had eaten that day was a few crackers with jelly, because the coronavirus shutdown had totally thrown me off my normal routine. Then, to my amazement, within one hour of hearing about my situation on the phone, CMC had shopped for and delivered everything I needed! | CMC wishes to publicly express our gratitude to the JUF for stepping forward at the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis and working in overdrive to raise funds and make substantial and critical allocations to many important organizations, including CMC. These funds are being used directly to help those who are most in need, by providing direct food assistance to hundreds of seniors and quarantined individuals suffering from food insecurity during this uncertain time. Thanks to this funding, CMC is able to continue making an even greater impact for the community and help battle the hardships caused by the Covid-19 crisis.
CMC is proud to report that we were recently honored by a grant from the Executive Committee of Sheerit Hapleitah of Metropolitan Chicago. The grant was issued in order to be used toward CMC programs that assist Holocaust survivors and the elderly during this difficult time, when so many are being adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
CMC gratefully expresses appreciation to the numerous individuals and family foundations who have stepped forward to shoulder responsibility on behalf of the community at this time. Their generous support has enabled CMC to work overtime in reaching out and providing essential and life-changing services to so many hundreds of vulnerable seniors and quarantined patients in the community during this difficult Covid-19 period.
* * * * *
CMC is committed to reach out to EVERY senior or quarantined patient from the community who may be in need of our services. Therefore, we are calling upon the community with an urgent request: Please refer your senior/quarantined neighbors, relatives and friends to the CMC.
By doing so you can be part of our effort to fight back against COVID-19, and help provide assistance to some of the most vulnerable members of the community. You may call us with a referral at any time; we will be glad to reach out to every senior and quarantined patient, and to offer them assistance in any possible manner.
| The CMC wishes a speedy recovery and good health to: "May G-d bless all those who are ill because of the coronavirus to receive a speedy and complete recovery, Amen." | | | CMC Chaplaincy and Senior Services Division
In Hospitals - Patient visitation
- Shabbat and Holiday meals
- Advocacy and support
- Food for Hatzalah transports
- Free kosher guest meals
- Family Counseling
- Tefillin, prayer and observances
- Hospitality suites and food pantries
- Shabbat packages
- Friday night candles
- Maternity box of delights
- Emergency food deliveries
- Bedside refrigerators
At Home - Medicar transportation
- Senior Center daily programs
- Emergency medical alert systems
- Preventing elder abuse and neglect
- Home safety assessments
- Fall prevention equipment
- Free delivery service for groceries
- Tuesday Senior Shopping Day
- Senior friendship
- Medication management systems
- World-wide "SimchaVision" (from any hospital or residence)
Special Holiday Projects (hospitals/nursing homes/home-bound) - Rosh Hashana: Shofar blowing
- Sukkot: Lulov and Etrog
- Chanukah: Menorah lighting and gifts
- Purim: Megillah reading and gifts
- Pesach: Seder plates
End of Life - Musical enrichment
- Counseling and support
- Assistance with traditional Jewish burials
- Minyanim for Kaddish
- Kaddish recitation
- Yahrtzeit and memorial services
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