by suzan berns
A profitable run-around
Josh Lipp celebrated his 40th birthday last month in a unique way: He ran around the Stanford track 40 times — about 10 miles — to raise $40,000 for the American Cancer Society. The run was in memory of his dad, Donald Lipp, who died of lung cancer four years ago. Lipp’s kids go to Ronald C. Wornick Jewish Day School. Head of school Mervyn Danker and second-grade teacher Ray Decker did the full 40 with him. Some 200 others who were cheering from the sidelines joined the final lap.
Lipp notes that he was supported by his Temple Beth Jacob congregation community and the many vendors who donated goodies, including Izzy’s Brooklyn Bagels. It took about 90 minutes to run the course. At press time, Lipp reported that he surpassed his fundraising goal by $2,000. Noting that an aunt, uncle and cousin are all fighting cancer right now, Lipp said, “Cancer has harmed too many of my family and friends, and this event is my way to fight back.” If you want to help, visit Lipp’s Web site, www.joshandmary.com, where you’ll also see a photo of Josh and his dad at a run in 1979.
New grads
Jon Sommer and Rabbi Eric Weiss of the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center report that nine more people graduated from the 40-hour Kol Haneshema, the End-of-Life Care program BAJHC co-sponsors with the Jewish Home and the Zen Hospice Project (ZHP). The program trains people to work with members of the Jewish community who are in hospice in Marin, Sonoma, San Francisco and the Peninsula. So far 18 (chai, or life, points out Weiss) volunteers have completed the training along with 25 Jewish Home staff members.
Besides Sommer and Weiss, the teaching team includes the Home’s Rabbi Shelly Marder, Rabbi Natan Fenner and Chaplain Jennifer Block of BAJHC and Eric Poche of ZHP. Participants told Sommer that the experience of going through the training was absolutely “life-changing.” To learn more about Kol Haneshema or the next opportunity to participate, contact Weiss at eweiss@ioaging.org.
Short shorts …
At Kabbalat Shabbat services Oct. 26, Rabbi Michael Lezak of Congregation Rodef Sholom told the 100-or-so assembled that turnout was slimmer than normal because half the usual suspects were at the Bruce Springsteen concert — where he had been the night before. It turned around the next week, however, when 400 showed up for services and Shabbat dinner … Aleksandra Fliegler has left the American Technion Society after seven years to be a full-time mommy — her third child is due shortly … Joy Plummer is the new director of development and marketing at Jewish Family & Children’s Services of the East Bay. She was formerly with the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation.
Marin resident Evan Korn put together a movie fundraiser at the Mill Valley Golf Club to benefit the people of Darfur. The 13-year-old eighth-grader arranged to show the documentary “The Devil Came on Horseback,” which chronicles the crisis … S.F. comedian-writer Fred Raker’s one-man show, “It Could Have Been a Wonderful Life,” is back for its annual pre-holiday stint. The show, in which Raker plays several characters including Jack Benny, runs Dec. 7 to 9 and Dec. 14 to 16 at the S.F. Playhouse. Visit www.wonderfullife.org for tickets and info about Raker and the production.
This columnist can be reached at faces@jweekly.com.
CopyrightJ, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California