Seeking Jewish penicillin, Breast cancer teleconference & HAFTR's little doctors — Your Health 2-13-09

Issue of Feb. 13, 2009 / 19 Shevat 5769 What need have we for medicine if chicken soup is simmering on the stovetop? An exaggeration, perhaps, but chicken soup is credited with remarkable restorative properties.

The National Jewish Outreach Program is seeking the nation’s best chicken soup recipe to coincide with its 13th annual Shabbat Across America on March 20 — Parshat Mishpatim/Shabbat Shekalim.

Chicken soup is a universal Jewish food and there’s nothing more universally Jewish, or restorative, for that matter, than Shabbat — the point that NJOP is trying to make.

The contest rules are simple: your recipe has gotta be kosher and it’s gotta be submitted by March 2 to contests at njop.org. Click here for more info.

— Mayer Fertig

Breast cancer teleconference planned for March A free national teleconference for women with breast cancer will take place on Tuesday, March 3 from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m.

“Take It From Me: My Experience in My Own Words” will feature several panelists encouraging women to record their personal experiences through various methods, as a tool to cope with the emotional and physical challenges of living with breast cancer.

The teleconference is a project of Sharsheret, a national organization supporting Jewish women with breast cancer.

The panel will include author Linda Blachman, creative writing teacher Janet Ruth Falon, blogger Jill Cohen, and Shera Dubitsky, a clinical supervisor at Sharsheret. The presentations will be followed by a question and answer session.

To register for the teleconference and for dial-in instructions, please call (866) 474-2774 or e-mail teleconference at sharsheret.org.

Yaffi Spodek

Wheels setting sail That old medical equipment in your basement can sail out of your life and on to good use. Drop it off in Woodmere before March 1 and Yad Sarah will ship it to Israel. No standard wheelchairs are needed at this time. Call Bob Schwell at (516) 295-1829 or Alan Stern at (516) 295-1672. HAFTR’s Little Doctor’s Program Sixth grade science classes at HAFTR participated in the “Little Doctors” program on Feb. 6, ahead of the HAFTR Middle School’s seventh annual blood drive on Tuesday, Feb. 10. The program, run by Long Island Blood Service, included discussions about circulation, the heart and the different components of blood. Students were given an “Ask Ten People” take-home assignment to spread the word about the critical need for donors and were encouraged to volunteer at the blood drive.