Lemonade Fund staff at the ALL.CAN 2025 Conference. To my right: Elana Alpert. To my left:, COO Yael Levy and Ilana Joseph

I have often said that if government social services were doing their job, we could close the Lemonade Fund. I could retire and learn to play bridge and our staff could find better paying jobs in hi-tech 🙂

I also know that certain societal ills are entrenched, like poverty.  And this will always be a challenge. Not just in Israel but across the globe. And I also know that we can’t fix all that with emergency subsistence grants to women suffering financial hardship after a diagnosis of breast or gynecological cancer. Just like government agencies can’t make entrenched poverty disappear. 

Last week I learned something very powerful and very empowering at the 2nd annual ALL.CAN Conference on “Minding the Inequality Gap”. The conference program was centered on a platform to curate dozens of new ideas to make cancer care better and more accessible. That brought 200+ NGOs and physicians and social workers and policy makers together to brainstorm ideas for new and creative initiatives to close inequality gaps. 

What I learned was that just like certain societal ills are entrenched, like poverty, the desire to do good and creativity  

People whose desire to bring goodness, to see, are just as entrenched here. goodness and to help those in need is deeply entrenched. “Chemla” (lovingkindness) is in their DNA; and in the DNA of the organizations, NGOs, and even the government committees they founded or work in to overcome the inequality gaps in cancer care. 

Creativity and innovation is another thing entrenched deeply in the tapestry that is Israel. This community of innovators proposed a myriad of ideas – real practical ideas – on how to close inequality gaps in oncology care. Each idea was presented in synopsis form and together in small working groups, we brainstormed their feasibility, explored their merits, challenged the obstacles, and of course, argued heatedly (and loudly) over the details! We filled blank canvases with even more ideas that popped up as we evaluated the proposals before we convened to review the results and plan the next steps. 

When you combine entrenched commitment to see and do good, with entrenched creativity and drive, there is no limit to what can be done. No matter how badly we may think a government agency operates, or how cumbersome the bureaucracy has become. 

I am not naive. Far from it. There are many many problems, and many many inequalities in Israeli cancer care. We know this from 15 years of seeing first hand the devastating financial hardship a cancer diagnosis can bring. But we also know that Lemonade Fund grants to these women help. In the supermarket and in the hearts of patients who struggle to hold on to hope. That’s what keeps us going. It’s in our DNA. 

That’s what the ALL.CAN Israel initiative is all about. It’s even in the name! The Lemonade Fund is proud to be part of a community that embraces the idea that we all can do something.  To be part of the solution rather than to wring our hands and complain about how much others are not NOT doing. Together we see good and through that lens, we see possibilities. 

So retirement can wait a bit. It’s a privilege to still be a part of something so wonderful.

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Enjoy this enlightening interview with Good People Fund founder Naomi Eisenberger on the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center’s podcast with host Bernie Furshpan.

Thank you Naomi for the shoutout on the Lemonade Fund’s work and The Good People Fund’s continued support.

The post Honorable Mention first appeared on Lemonade Fund.

September is Gynecological Cancer Awareness and with approximately 7,000 women diagnosed with gynecological malignancies and pre-cancerous conditions in Israel every year, this is incredibly important. We are beginning to understand the urgency for financial aid for these patients in our community. 

Our partner social workers report that the financial effects of these malignancies for women – especially young women – is significant. In fact, last month the Lemonade Fund awarded a grant to a minor for the very first time. A 17-year old high school student with ovarian cancer. This young woman’s entire life, and that of her entire family, has been put on hold so her mother can be at her side during the difficult treatments. With the parents unable to work, the financial ramifications have literally brought this family to its knees. We are very grateful to be able to help the family in a way that will alleviate some of their stress.

But the fact is, these diseases are insidious and often diagnosed late. And they are particularly difficult emotionally. Updated screening has led to many cases diagnosed in pre-cancerous stages, and this proves even more that awareness is key. We have more to learn and I can only hope that through diligence, awareness and knowledge, fewer patients will be diagnosed at such a late stage. 

The Lemonade Fund is proud to collaborate with “Habait Shel Bar” in bringing more information about these diseases to Israeli women.

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The post Kugel of Kindness first appeared on Lemonade Fund.

I come here once a year to write personally. Not as the Founder and Director of the Lemonade Fund, but as my younger self who went to my yearly routine mammogram in the summer of 2010 only to learn that I likely had breast cancer. The diagnosis was confirmed two days later, on July 20, 2010 (9 Av 5770) That was the day when my life turned upside down.

It’s not easy to think back on that time. It would be easier to let these memories fade away. Thank God, I recovered and am healthy (and as of this year, a grandmother!) I’ve been fortunate to have 15 good years and merit many blessings for which I will always be grateful.

So why revisit that dark place each year? I go there, together with you, for the sake of the people who are newly diagnosed. Let me explain.

Anyone who has had cancer remembers the feelings of utter loneliness and desolation that come with the diagnosis. Cancer is frightening. But even more than that, it is isolating. Even with all of the communal and family support in the world (if one is lucky enough to have it,) the only one who actually is ill is the patient. The surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, etc., happen to just one body only. The patient’s. Treatments are often deforming, debilitating and life-changing. They’re hopefully curative, but the journey is long and there are no guarantees. And it is a solo journey.

I was diagnosed with cancer on the 9th of Av, the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. A day commemorating historical tragedies suddenly seemed to mirror my own. There is a Jewish tradition to hope that this day, the 9th of Av, will one day be transformed into the happiest day of the year. Never a believer in coincidence, I embraced that tradition in my heart, and fast tracked the concept of turning destruction into reconstruction, desolation into consolation by establishing the Lemonade Fund (Israel’s first and only emergency financial relief nonprofit for women with breast and now gynecological cancers.) We are celebrating our 14th anniversary this summer… Fourteen years of giving hope, in the form of financial assistance, to the most vulnerable Israeli cancer patients.

I am incredibly proud that as a community, as a country, we haven’t lost the ability to really SEE and SUPPORT each other, especially during these last two years challenged by war and suffering. Memory produces empathy; in war and in illness. We feel the pain of those who have lost loved ones during this war and we pray for the safe return of all of our hostages. And we deeply feel the pain of the woman in Metula, the Negev and in Tel Aviv who is alone with a new cancer diagnosis. We cannot make her less alone on her journey, but we can help her feel less lonely by showing her that we know how she feels, because we were there once, too.

And that is why I come back here once a year. To remember, to feel deeply and to connect. Thank you for coming back with me each year.

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Thanks to our sister organization and valued partner, Habait Shel Bar, for inviting us to speak at their medical conference for oncology social workers and nurses who work with women facing gynecological malignancies. The event was attended by a few dozen oncology care professionals from Israel’s HMOs and hospitals, as well as medical company representatives.

Lemonade Fund COO Yael Levy addressed the gathering as part of an important session on patient support. The rich program covered important, and diverse topics in gynecological cancers, such as nursing care, new treatment, self-care for caregivers, dealing with treatment side effects and early menopause and career development challenges in the face of a serious illness. 

Thanks to Bar Levy (no relation!), founder and CEO of Habait She Bar for the invitation and continued cooperation to help patients together with a holistic and professional basket of support and services. 

The post Lemonade Fund Addresses Habait Shel Bar 2025 Conference first appeared on Lemonade Fund.

Yael Levy, Lemonade Fund COO & Shari Mendes, Lemonade Fund Founder and Executive Director with the Good People Fund delegation

It was so refreshing to meet with Naomi Eisenberger and Julie Fischer and their team from the Good People Fund on their annual trip to Israel last month. We shared with them our plans to expand reach, our migration to online applications and plans to help even more patients maintain dignity throughout their cancer journey.

Their confidence in our work, and the resilience of all the wonderful NGOs they support, is inspiring. Understandably, all of us in Israel have been bogged down by the heaviness of the ongoing hostage crisis and fears of renewed fighting. Our reflection in their eyes, how we appear as we continue on our mission to affect change and build a better future, shines a light on our resilience that sometimes gets lost.

Thank you to the good people of The Good People Fund for lifting our spirits. Your visit during these hard times helps us keep our vision in sight, and helps us keep faith in our work.

The post Together with Good People  first appeared on Lemonade Fund.

Founder and Executive Director Shari Mendes shares the story of The Israel Lemonade Fund at the @worldemunah Women’s Leadership in Israel conference.

The post Shari Mendes at Emunah Women’s Leadership in Israel Conference first appeared on Lemonade Fund.

 

The Jewish Link, a popular Jewish newspaper in the New York metropolitan area, covers the inspiring story of the Lemonade Fund’s work and history.

“Shari Mendes knows how essential every grant from the charity she established is to breast cancer patients. That’s because 14 years ago, she was in their shoes. In 2010 the former Teaneck resident was diagnosed with breast cancer after undergoing a routine mammogram.”

Read the article here

 

 

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Thanks to Guy Tavori and the ALL.CAN-Israel initiative, Lemonade Fund representatives attended a special session of the Knesset Health Committee on the challenges of closing gaps to provide quality oncology services in the periphery. The session took place as part of the ALL.CAN-Israel conference to mark World Cancer Day 2025 at the Knesset. 

While protocols and recordings of committee meetings are easily accessible from the Knesset archives, there was something special about attending a session on this issue in person as representatives of the Lemonade Fund. 

In attendance were several MKs representing constituents most affected by the inequalities in Israel’s underserved areas. To hear their expressions of frustration and heartfelt concern was painful. But most prominent, and perhaps most important, was what we learned from representatives from working groups charged by the Ministry of Health to come up with viable solutions to close gaps in underserved areas. Prof. Ido Wolf and Dr. Hana Shroder presented data from the Ministry’s work to map the needs across the country and recommend policies to meet those needs. 

Prof. Wolf outlined the evolution of oncology care from a singly focused discipline to a truly multidisciplinary one and illustrated this with a startling statistic: 59% of all cancer treatments are delivered in four major hospitals in Israel’s central region. All within a small geographic radius: Ichalov, Beilinson, Sheba and Rambam (Haifa). In these centers each patient’s case is evaluated by a multidisciplinary team of oncological surgeons, oncologists, and other specialists. This is the ONLY way to optimize modern treatment protocols that require expertise in immunology, internal medicine, surgery, endocrinology, reproductive medicine and so much more. 

Physicians understand this need. And as the numbers show, so do patients. The vast majority of patients from Israel’s periphery CHOOSE to travel to the center of the country. Despite the economic and social burden this places on them  and on their families. 

Do the tertiary medical centers in Israel’s periphery not want to provide this standard of care? Of course they want to. 

To address this with one-dimensional calls demanding more money, more imaging equipment, and more affordable public transportation is only a fraction of the equation. And that’s what lies at the root of the problem.

In the committee room the “unity of concern” was poignant. But the comments and demands for more (of everything), alongside the long and disappointing record of healthcare policy failure in periphery communities, do not bode well for a “unity of solution.” Because as Prof. Wolf so eloquently explained: this is not a problem that more money can solve alone. More physician positions also is not enough. Nor more buses or trains or parking spots in the train stations! 

It requires finding integrated, seamless ways to allocate the precious resources of the multidisciplinary centers across the entire country. It requires out of the box solutions to work together, not populistic ones, to bring this expertise to the treatment rooms in Israel’s north and south. The work the Planning and Strategy Division is doing to map these resources is vital. But the real battle will be in finding consensus to implement their recommendations. That rise above politics, egos and populism. 

That’s the “unity of solution” the Lemonade Fund and other NGOs in the ALL.CAN community strive for. That our work will become less vital to the health and well-being of so many. 

The post We ALL.CAN first appeared on Lemonade Fund.