BIKUR CHOLIM OF GREATER WASHINGTON: Since 1997, Bikur Cholim of Greater Washington (BCGW) has been a safety net for the Jewish community. Over the last 28 years, this safety net has expanded and tightened. In 1997 there were no kosher hospital pantries in local hospitals. Now the BCGW  Meir L' Olam kosher hospital pantries program supports seven kosher pantries area hospitals: Children's National Medical Center, Adventist White Oak Medical Center, Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Silver Spring, Medstar Montgomery Hospital in Olney, and Sibley Memorial Hospital and a mini pantry at the Children's Inn at NIH.  In 2016, BCGW opened the doors of the Bernard Creeger Bikur Cholim House across the street from The National Institutes of Health and established the first Jewish respite home for patients and caregivers in the DMV. In 2025, BCGW opened the Community Kosher Kitchen, another first. In this kitchen BCGW staff and volunteers join together to cook kosher medically tailored meals for all who need them. 

 

By offering these and our many other services without cost to the recipients, we free people to focus on their recovery without additional financial stress. Illness is a part of our life and yet it can shake up the equilibrium that we all  carefully craft and have ripple effects that extend beyond the person directly affected. Over the last 28 years, BCGW has built a professional organization that is intimately connected to our community and understands its needs. We have created essential programs, established a broad based network of volunteers and developed deep understanding of the healthcare and support organization landscape and can put our knowledge and partnerships to work for you. When illness disrupts your routine, BCGW holds your hand and helps you reestablish your equilibrium or work to establish a new one. 

 

This gala will be a celebration of our work as well as an appeal to all of you to continue to support BCGW and make sure that the Greater Washington area continues to have a robust, inclusive bikur cholim organization for years to come.

Debi Factor

 

Ruth Konick

 

Joan Lehrhaupt

 

Hon. Paul Lieberman

 

Joan Neugroschl

 

Ginger Pinchot

 

Helene Zeltser

 

 

Past Honorees