Woodmere, NY – A unique website created by a Woodmere mother helps coordinate chesed efforts for those going through an illness or other crisis.
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TziporahsNest.com is the brainchild of 37 year old Shira Kalish, created two years ago when her sister, Darielle Rabe, was diagnosed with leukemia.
“My sister was in the seventh month of her third pregnancy and we were all shocked beyond belief,” Mrs. Kalish told VIN News. “She lives in North Woodmere, a wonderful, close community and right away everyone got busy organizing lists of who was baking challah, who was saying tehillim and who was preparing meals for the family. Everyone was busy with all these phone calls and I figured there had to be a better way.”
Mrs. Kalish, a 5th grade English teacher at Far Rockaway’s Torah Academy for Girls and the mother of three, spent a year putting together the website as a means of streamlining the various campaigns that were taking place on behalf of her sister.
“I did this as a zechus for her continued refuah,” explained Mrs. Kalish who reports that both her sister and three year old nephew are doing well. “It was a good organizational tool for the many efforts and makes it very easy to help someone. When you hear of someone who is sick, everyone wants to do something to help and while there are things you have to leave to the doctors, we call all still daven, bake challah and say Tehillim. No one should ever need something like this, but if they do, Tziporah’s Nest is here to help them along.”
The site, which currently has over 1500 members, offers the ability to join a campaign to say tehillim, bake challah, arrange meals for family members and run tzedaka campaigns. Members have the option of joining a campaign for someone they know on Tziporah’s Nest, helping a total stranger whose campaign is already on the site or creating a new campaign for someone in need of help.
One of the advantages of the site is that it provides people who live in other areas the ability to take part in a campaign.
“If someone lives in Israel and has a cousin who is sick in America, they feel so removed,” said Mrs. Kalish. “But with Tziporah’s Nest they can log on and be actively involved in helping out.”
The website also offers menu suggestions for those who want to cook meals, links to local restaurants for those who prefer to send a meal and the option of sending a gift including flowers, candy, edible arrangements or pajama grams.
The website is named for Mrs. Kalish’s sister, whose Hebrew name is Tziporah.
“The name Tziporah’s Nest conjures up the image of a baby birds, returning to the nest where they feel safe and cared for,” explained Mrs. Kalish. “People come here and they feel like they are safe and are helping others. No one should ever need to use our website, but we are here in case they need us and I hope that the site should be a zechus for my sister’s continued refuah sheleima.”
This organization is amazing!
nice job…. I’ve been trying to get a Chesed project off the ground… and it can get really tough… We need more people like her.
Mrs. Kalish,
May it be G‑d’s will that all the trees planted from your seeds should be like you.
We have a similar organization in Oceanside, LI. We also have a web site for posting meals, childcare, laundry, rides to doctors, etc. We take care of our own.