Editorial: Gym Inspiration

Issue of June 4, 2010 / 22 Sivan 5770

Sitting in a high school gym has never been a particularly inspiring experience for us. We’re journalists, not jocks, after all, and high school gymnasiums are redolent of climbing ropes and other perverse forms of torture. But the gym at the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and the Rockaways (HAFTR) High School this past Sunday offered a completely different experience — one that was quite inspiring — and there wasn’t a basketball in sight.

The inspiration was provided by a group of volunteers and the thousands of people who responded to their urgent call for assistance.

We speak, of course, of the bone marrow donor drives conducted at HAFTR and at Yeshiva Shor Yoshuv on Sunday. With thousands of people tested as possible matches, and tens of thousands of dollars raised, the twin events could easily have been capstones of a massive effort. And they were a massive effort. A small group of leaders and dozens of other people spent hundreds of hours planning and arranging. But no resting on laurels here. Instead the drives are regarded by the people who pulled them off as merely a step along the way to a larger goal, that of entering into the data banks of the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation, every Jewish person who is eligible to be a donor. In other words, everyone who is between the ages of 18 and 60 and in general good health.

Knowing a 20 year old with a serious illness, or a young mother with a serious illness, and realizing that you can help, proved to be a very effective catalyst for the drive organizers. And they did an amazing job.

We had an unusual perch from which to observe the goings on — a table at the back of the gym from which the Jewish Star conducted a live internet broadcast. It was a special edition of ‘What’s Next,’ the weekly program we founded several weeks ago (Plug Alert: Thursdays at 2, live at www. nachumsegal.com).

The activity in the gym was intense. A steady stream of people arrived to be tested, to put themselves out there as possible donors. And we found out during the program that there were more volunteers — many more volunteers — than could be efficiently put to work. In fact, the HAFTR site was booked by Tuesday; Shor Yoshuv shortly thereafter. And some people who signed up to work for several hours ended up staying for the entire day.

Then, some of the people who had already put in a day’s work packed up some more testing kits and went to a wedding. They were invited, all right, but they weren’t guests, strictly speaking. Instead, the groom and his father made a point of inviting the testers to test their guests. Completely contrary to the usual simcha calculus of making guests as comfortable as possible, these ba’alei simcha wanted to give their guests the chance to be donors too. So they brought the testing process to them.

During our webcast we had the privilege of interviewing about half a dozen bone marrow donors and recipients. The recipients were noteworthy not because they were ill and now they’re not, thank G-d, but because of what they took away from their experiences. Namely, a willingness — no, an eagerness — to share their experience with others going through it anew, to help them weather the storm and keep their faith and humanity intact in the process. Truly remarkable people.

And the donors.

One admitted to hesitating at first when told he was a match. But he quickly rallied and then went above and beyond in making his lifesaving donation. Another said candidly, it never crossed my mind to refuse. Who wouldn’t say yes?

Also truly remarkable people. And so are the organizers, and the thousands of people who came out to be tested. Mi K’amcha Yisroel.