5 Towners at OU Bikur Cholim national event

It spanned just six and a half hours, but for 70 heads of North American Bikur Cholim organizations, the Orthodox Union’s inaugural National Bikur Cholim Conference 2025 in New York’s Financial District was nothing short of transformative.

Among those attending was Leah Fink, president of Bikur Cholim of Far Rockaway and the Five Towns (Bikur Cholim FR & 5T).

“Our community is huge — we have 100 shuls here,” Fink notes. “I was moved by smaller communities, whose Bikur Cholims operate on a large scale. Our population is over 10 times the size of the community in Passaic-Clifton, New Jersey, for example, and they send out an astounding number of meals.”

“After the conference, my message to our Bikur Cholim was, ‘We need to increase our volume and reach more people. We need to find the cholim, by ramping up our marketing efforts and community outreach’,” Fink said.

The OU’s Department of Synagogue Initiatives — part of the OU’s Department of Community Engagement — created the conference as a space for Bikur Cholim leaders to collaborate, exchange ideas, and build networks of mutual support.

Participants bonded over shared experiences, challenges, strategies, and achievements, leaving with practical tools and significant chizuk to propel them through the months ahead.

“It’s hard to describe the power of what we witnessed at this gathering,” reflects OU National Director of Synagogue Initiatives Rabbi Adir Posy, who organized the event.

He described the attendees as “quiet heroes who open their homes, fill hospital rooms with comfort, and ensure that no Jew ever feels alone in their time of need.”

OU Managing Director for Community Engagement Rabbi Yaakov Glasser notes the conference reflected the Orthodox Union’s broader vision, to serve as a unifying space for those supporting every dimension of communal life.

“The OU is uniquely positioned to bring together such a diverse range of geographic, demographic, and ideological segments of our community, all in the service of strengthening Klal Yisrael,” he said.

Program sessions included “Collective Purchasing and Shared Resources,” “Strengthening Bikur Cholim hrough Technology,” and “What Keeps Us Up at Night and What Gets Us Out of Bed.”

The latter was led by Audrey Siegel, executive director of Bikur Cholim of Greater Washington, which serves 12 hospitals, operates a hospitality house, stocks hospital pantries, runs a kosher kitchen, and offers numerous communal programs.

The program also included two facilitated small-group sessions, “What We Do and What We Need” and “Volunteers & Sustainability,” giving leaders a chance to exchange best practices, share common hurdles, and explore long-term solutions.

“The facilitators were excellent, and we managed to share practical advice in a very short amount of time,” says Siegel.

“I came away feeling less alone and more a part of a dynamic team of people throughout the world, all working toward the same goals. Our communities differ, as do the specifics of what we offer, but we are united in our mission to help Klal Yisrael when it’s needed most.”

Among the session facilitators was Dr. Nina Butler, founding director of Bikur Cholim of Pittsburgh, which supports local and out-of-town patients and their families facing medical challenges. The organization provides home hospitality, kosher meals, transportation to hospitals, airports, and appointments, and assists with a variety of personal requests.

“As the discussion leader, I invited each participant to share a bit about their city and what makes their Bikur Cholim unique,” says Butler.

“Those simple prompts sparked genuine interest and rich, organic conversation. The amount of learning that emerged from just listening to one another was remarkable. There are so many selfless people doing chessed as a full-time profession that anyone would be inspired. Each person had a story, and a lesson to share. It was priceless.”

Bikur Cholim FR & 5T provides comprehensive support to those facing illness and their families. From meals, visits, medical equipment loans, and transportation, to subsidizing medical costs — including often-uncovered mental health therapies — the group addresses a wide range of needs. It also offers respite care, senior programming, and educational through community lectures and preventive health initiatives.

In addition to forging new connections, Fink deepened relationships with two leaders she had only previously met by phone. Since the conference, she has followed up with various Bikur Cholim organizations to discuss innovative ideas, seek advice on implementing certain practices, and exchange forms and protocols.

She was especially inspired by the achievements of Bikur Cholims in smaller communities.

In the short time since the event, Bikur Cholim FR & 5T has connected with local shul rabbis to help spread the word about their services. They also plan to advertise to all the local schools, update their website, and expand their social media presence.

Like Fink, Siegel left the conference energized and ready to expand her organization’s reach.

“At the conference, we created a WhatsApp Group and established relationships that have already been helpful,” she says.

“Thanks to these new relationships, I was able to help two families requiring assistance in another city to connect with the best Bikur Cholim contact in that area. I am grateful to the OU for introducing me to so many other Bikur Cholim organizations and facilitating such powerful collaborations.”