ChaiSpotlight: Stu Guttman

Bonjour à tous,

I remember exactly where I was, and what I was doing, just over 2 and a half years ago when Rabbi Rothman called to officially bring me on board. At the time, I was a Camp Director and had just finished having an in depth conversation with the camp doctor about a homesick camper who needed some extra TLC.

Rabbi Rothman’s next words to me were “I know you’ve worked in camps all your life, but wait until you see Camp Simcha and the work we do.” He truly hit the nail on its head. Camp Simcha amazingly restores a sense of carefree childhood to our Chai Warriors.

While I am no longer with the camp, I still speak with that camp doctor on a regular basis – only now, as the Coordinator of the Montreal office, the conversations have shifted to discussing visiting hours, release schedules and treatment plans for our Chai Warriors.

The incredible magic that’s created during the summer at Camp Simcha is reinforced by the work we do throughout the rest of the year, at Donald Berman Chai Lifeline Canada. There are over two-dozen free programs and services that aim to meet the unique emotional, social, and financial needs of families living the realities of serious paediatric illness or loss.

At the heart of it all, is the energy, power and effectiveness of our dedicated volunteers, which have allowed us to succeed. It’s their ability to maintain a fresh and dynamic perspective that allows us to keep pushing our limits and provide for our families.

Here are just a few examples of what our dedicated, creative, team is able to achieve…

One mother shares with us that she hasn’t been downtown in years – we arrange for an after-hours paint night for all of our mothers at Nespresso’s beautiful coffee shop, complete with chocolates and cheesecakes.

One of our Chai Warriors shares that he’s a looking forward to the new Ghostbusters movie – we arrange for a private advance screening at Cinestarz for all of our families and then call the Montreal Association of Ghostbusters to come in costume and join in the fun (yes, we literally called the Ghostbusters!).

Another one of our Chai Warriors compares their cancer journey to a roller coaster, with all of the ups & downs – we arrange to take all of our families to La Ronde amusement park for an afternoon of fun & excitement.

These are just some of the many incredible ideas that our tireless team has come up with to date – continuously trying to go above and beyond for our Chai Warriors.

But, there is still SO much more that we can do.

Chai Lifeline makes such a difference to so many individuals every day, every hour and every minute, while they face some of life’s most difficult challenges.

If you are in the Montreal area and interested in our organization, please contact me in order to get involved, and to help us help them.

Notre famille peut utiliser votre aide – merci pour tout vos efforts!

Stu Guttman, MAJPS, MBA
(514) 667-7041 Ext. 1827
[email protected]