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Chana Dena Pollak

What high school did you go to?

How many people have you helped get vaccine appointments for?

Yeshiva of Greater Washington

What shul do you go to?

My family attends Ner Tamid

What do you hear more often, how your father is an elite football quarterback or your mothers 24/7 chesed?

Up until recently, it was always about my father’s football playing. Don’t tell him but he’s starting to age a bit.

What do you love most about living in Baltimore?

The incredible pool of volunteers and dedicated individuals ready to jump at the chance to make a difference. What I have personally witnessed throughout the pandemic is nothing short of “Herculean.”

What local organizations are you involved with?

JVC, The Associated, Hatzalah & Bikur Cholim

How did you get involved with Bikur Cholim? How did you get involved in the communities covid recovery efforts?

In December, when my Real Estate Management company wanted me back in our PG County office full time, my daughter’s class was going into quarantine and I didn’t think the timing was right. At the same time MCPI (Maryland Covid Plasma Initiative) was looking for someone to coordinate a few COVID plasma drives from home so I jumped on the opportunity while I was finishing up some projects. Through MCPI’s partners in other cities I got swept into an incredible group of talented individuals dedicated to helping our community get through this crisis. When vaccines started becoming available, volunteers in NY were working round the clock to find appts for people and I was able to help some individuals in NY get appts. One day, they turned the tables on me and asked her help finding appts in Maryland. And so it began…

Prior to beginning our own Community Clinic, we booked about 1,500 appts and we have just about doubled that number in our own community clinic. We look forward to expanding that number exponentially in the coming weeks. Despite many people’s belief, our community still has a long way to go to reach “Herd Immunity”.

How did you get your own vaccine clinic?

A lot of support from the community especially from Councilman Yitzy Schleifer, Laura Kurcfeld from The Associated and of course Lifebridge Health. In addition, this clinic could not be possible without the dozens of incredible volunteers daily including Hatzalah. They are truly the heart and soul of this clinic. The immense gratitude that I feel towards each and every one of these volunteers cannot accurately be described. Their dedication is unparalled.

How can people join the waiting list to be vaccinated at Ner Tamid? How can local doctors, nurses, EMTs and others volunteer for these efforts?

We update www.baltimorebikurcholim.org frequently with links to preregister, to sign up for open clinics, and with each week’s volunteer opportunities. You may also call Bikur Cholim at 410-999-3777 ext. 108 or email Vaccines@baltimorebikurcholim.org for assistance in registering or with any questions. We also offer a separate area upon request for highrisk individuals or sensory free space.

How can the community financially contribute to these efforts?

Bikur Cholim has proudly supported this massive community undertaking. You can help too by going to www.baltimorebikurcholim.org to contribute to this effort or emailing vaccines@baltimorebikurcholim.org with specific contributions.

Anything else you’d like to share with our 10,000+ cover to cover readers?

Get out there and get vaccinated. Our best “shot” at getting back to normal begins with you!