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DIANE WALKER

JFO Foundation Fund and Scholarship Administrator Substantial scholarship grants (currently up to $15,000) are available to graduate students through the Benjamin and Elizabeth “Bess” Stern Scholarship Fund. The fund is administered by the Financial Aid Committee of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. These scholarship grants are available to qualified Jewish students willing to pursue graduate studies at Creighton University, the University of Nebraska Omaha or the University of Nebraska Medical Center. All of these are located in the city of Omaha, Nebraska. The fund will give first priority to graduate level students pursuing studies in the following fields at universities in the city of Omaha, Nebraska: • higher mathematics, physics (both classical and quantum), astronomy, meteorology, astrophysics, engineering or fields related to any of the foregoing which allow us to know more about the universe in which we live; • journalism, in its best sense of ethical, honest, and accurate reporting, and photo journalism; • finance and economics; • architecture and related fields, including city planning, which affect the quality of life in a community; • classical music (limited to piano, flute, cello and violin) to give young and old joy from the beauty of its sounds; and • scientific research in human diseases for which no known complete cure has been found. If there are no qualified applicants under the first priority, the second priority shall be given to graduate students pursuing any other field of study at the above-mentioned universities. Scholarships shall be made only to students with demonstrated financial need and who show character and contributions to the community. Preference will be given to students of the Jewish faith. Applicants may be from any locality, but graduate studies must be pursued at Creighton University, the University of Nebraska Omaha, or the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The Benjamin and Elizabeth ‘Bess’ Stern Scholarship Fund was established at the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation by sisters Louise H. Stern and Naomi Stern Jaffer in memory of their parents. Bess Stern was a descendant of Benjamin Stock, the brother of Devoshe (Mrs. Samuel) Riekes. Ben-

jamin’s granddaughter, Gertrude Brodkey, was married to Justice Donald Brodkey, the first Jew to serve on the Nebraska Supreme Court. Colonel Benjamin Stern taught mathematics and physics at Omaha University after his retirement from the U.S. Army. An Omaha native with military decorations including the Air Medal, the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm Leaf, Col. Stern founded the Cadet Corps at Creighton University, the foundation for Creighton ROTC. Col. Stern was the first Jewish person from Omaha to receive an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He graduated from West Point in 1923, did graduate work at Rutgers University, and earned a master’s degree in science from the California Institute of Technology. Certainly, education was important to both Benjamin and Elizabeth Stern. The application deadline for this fund is June 1, 2022. The application will be available on the Jewish Federation website at www.jewishomaha.org. Please contact Diane Walker at 402.334.6551 or dwalker@jewishomaha.org with any questions.

A perfect match

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One of those featured a representative from the Gift of Life organization. It was after that session we all had our cheeks swabbed to be entered into the Gift of Life Marrow registry. I am fairly sure Gift of Life visits each Birthright group.” Gift of Life works for those battling blood cancer. Approximately every three minutes, a child or adult in the United States is diagnosed with a type of blood cancer. An estimated 186,400 people will be diagnosed with leukemia and lymphoma in 2021. There are three main types of blood cancers: Leukemia, cancer that is found in your blood and bone marrow; Lymphoma, blood cancer that affects the lymphatic system; and Myeloma, blood cancer that specifically targets your plasma cells. For many, there is hope of a cure through a bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplant. Today, transplantation of healthy stem cells donated by related and unrelated volunteers offers hope to many patients suffering from these sometimes-deadly diseases. Advances in transplantation have made this procedure a reality for thousands who are alive today because a stranger decided to get their cheek swabbed (for instance, during a Birthright break-out session) and found they were a match to someone in need. “You swab your cheek with special Q-tips,” Charles said, “put those in a prepared envelope and send them in. From your cheek tissue, they can determine your Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) type, which is important because it helps the medical professionals understand how likely it is the recipient’s body will reject or accept the stem cell transplant. HLA type varies more among humans and is more specific than merely the blood type. It’s such a unique feature that even the odds of finding a sibling who is a match is only about 25%. The odds of finding a match in the current registry are roughly one in 1,300.” Once Charles returned from his Birthright trip, life returned to normal. “I continued to have great relationships with many of the people from the trip,” he said. “A number of us would see each other about every month afterwards. When the pandemic eased up, we even rented a house in Cape Cod. About 15 months after returning from Birthright, I received a call from Gift of Life. It’s unusual to receive a call that quickly; most people get a call years or even decades after swabbing and some never get called at all.” “I ended up being a perfect match with my recipient,” Charles said, “based on HLA typing. Because of HIPAA, all they allow me to know is that I matched with an adult man battling acute myeloid leukemia. I don’t know his name or where he lives. They give you the option to receive updates on his status and then, at a much later time, we can both mutually agree to receive each other’s contact information and potentially connect.” The hospitality provided by Gift of Life during this entire process was unique, Charles said: “They flew me and my friend Zak Helm to Florida for the donation and put us in a nice hotel by the beach for several days prior to the donation. Zak has been my best friend since childhood (he is the son of Bob Helm and Kathy GoldsteinHelm). Once you are in that chair and begin the stem cell donation, it’s virtually the same as donating blood—there is no significant pain associated with the actual donation. Donating blood stem cells is something ideally done by donors in the 18-35 age group. It involves receiving a drug called Neupogen, which stimulates blood stem cell growth. The blood is then filtered through a special machine which separates the stem cells, after which the blood itself is returned to the donor. Gift of Life refers to some donors as "super donors" if they are a perfect match and if they respond very positively to Neupogen. “Not everyone responds the same way to Neupogen. Taking Neupogen is what caused my body to produce more blood stem cells than normal,” Charles said, “so the donation took less time and the collection is potentially more concentrated.” It’s important to remember the recipient and the long road he has ahead of him, he said. “As soon as I committed to going through with the donation, the recipient immediately underwent chemo therapy to kill any cancer cells and any stem cells in his bone marrow. He was given immunosuppressive drugs to prevent his body from attacking my stem cells. It usually takes three to 12 months for the immune system to recover from a transplant. His first year after the transplant will be like the first year of a newborn baby, as far as the immune system is concerned. While the doctors wait to see if the donation was successful, his life hangs in the balance.” Gift of Life asks people to donate even if they aren't a perfect match. A decently close match is better than no match at all.You can find more information about Gift of Life, as well as other inspiring stories, at www.giftoflife.org.

ORGANIZATIONS

B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS

The Monsky Lodge of B’nai B’rith is pleased to announce the resumption of its award-winning speaker program via ZOOM. Although the Home auditorium remains temporarily closed, we’ll continue presenting an outstanding lineup of thought-provoking keynoters. For specific speaker information and/or to be placed on the email list, please contact Breadbreakers chair Gary Javitch at breadbreakersomaha@ gmail.com or leave a message at the B’nai B’rith JCC office 402.334.6443.