This article appeared in the Dec. 4, 2003 Jewish Advocate.

Wellness Community marks 10^th in good taste

By Susie Davidson

Advocate Correspondent

Over the past decade, the national non-profit Wellness Community has represented hope for those who desperately need it. In a homey, supportive, informative, and cost-free environment, wellness professionals have provided a setting where people living with cancer, and their loved ones, can interact and learn from one another.

“Having cancer is very stressful,” says Executive Director Cherry Muse. “Many people feel hopeless, isolated and out of control.” She also cited financial concerns common to many patients. “The Wellness Community provides hope, community and a sense of control,” she said. “We don’t charge for our services because people shouldn’t have to put hope on their Mastercard.”

The Community’s educational workshops and mind/body programs, which utilize a “Patient Active Concept,” have helped those affected by cancer to remain viable and vital. Regardless of the stage of their disease, participants often regain control and lessen feelings of isolation as they embrace hope and encouragement.

In August, the group moved to a former mill building in the Echo Bridge Office Park in Newton Upper Falls, which sits on the Charles at the intersection of Chestnut and Eliot Streets. “Our new home is beautiful and people tell us they feel better just walking in the door,” said Muse, who added that the river flows under their yoga room. “I’ve been assured that this is excellent feng shui!” she added. “Our participants love our new home and spend a lot of time just hanging out, reading, chatting, and doing jigsaw puzzles,” she said.

This Monday evening, Dec. 8, at 6:30, local celebrity chefs will help the organization mark its anniversary and also celebrate the new location. The 10th Annual Fundraiser, “Flavors of Wellness,” will feature tastings and a silent auction, with Younes Rouzky of Argana, Louis Birlhante of the Capital Grill, Peter McCarthy of EVOO, Erwin Ramos of Ole Mexican Grill, Richard Katz of Legal Seafoods, Ellie O’Keefe of Pelligrino, and Andreas Horava of the Westin Copley Hotel. Other attendees will include Kip Parker, the Community’s Director of Development, Muse, and staff member Harriet Berman. The group will be collecting special $25 wishes throughout the year, with a special viewing of the star wishes to be held in Spring, 2004.

Funds raised aid programs such as Newcomers Meetings, informal sessions on the center’s programs and philosophy; Weekly Support Groups with licensed psychotherapists which address stress management and nutrition; Networking Groups for patients, family and friends, and Kids Count Too!, support programs for children ages 4-12 and teenagers with a parent or grandparent living with cancer.

Muse, a Jew-by-choice, worked with Lenny Zakim for three years at the ADL, during the time he was fighting multiple myeloma. “I saw how much he benefited from complimentary therapies,” she recalled. Zakim was the Gilda Radner honoree at The Wellness Community, which was seeking an Executive Director in 2000. “The connection with Lenny made it a natural fit,” she said. “He was the real deal, and I'm proud to have known and to have worked for him.” Muse was quickly able to link the missions of the two groups. “The ADL fights hate,” she said. “We often described bigotry as a cancer, and encouraged victims of hate to be proactive on their own behalf. At The Wellness Community, we help people fight cancer by being proactive,” she said.

Raised as a Christian Scientist, Muse described her family, which includes Methodists, Mormons, Catholics, Baptists and Unitarians, as “its own ecumenical movement.” A 1976 convert, she believes she is the first Jew on either side. Muse began attending Gerem classes in the winter of 1975. “My husband, David Orlinoff, told me early in our relationship that he’d like me to consider converting,” she said. “The more I learned about Judaism, the more comfortable I became with the idea.” Though she knew that her children would encounter anti-Semitism and struggles she had never experienced, she had faith in the strength and warmth of the Jewish community. In 1987, she and her husband helped to build Concord’s first synagogue. “When our congregation, Kerem Shalom, carried our Torah through the streets of Concord to the sounds of Klezmer music, and placed it in the new synagogue, I felt that I was making a difference in Jewish history,” she said. In 1993, she and daughter Rebecca took part in a Bat Mitzvah ceremony at Masada as part of a CJP trip.

Muse cites fundraising, enacted through events, mail campaigns, grant proposals and individual solicitations, as the greatest challenge for the Wellness Community, which is totally dependent on the generosity of individuals, corporations and foundations. “Last year was good but, like everyone in the non-profit world, I worry about what comes next,” she said. “Over 10,000 people in Greater Boston will be diagnosed with cancer in the next year; we have a moral obligation to be there for anyone who wants our services.”

“If you have cancer, you are not alone - there is a whole community waiting for you,” she said. “We’re all touched by cancer, and gifts directly benefit people who are engaged in the battle of their life!”

Tickets are $200. For information, please call Parker at 617-597-0091 or visit www.wellnesscommunity.org. The Wellness Community-Greater Boston is located at 1039 Chestnut St., Newton Upper Falls, 02464.