How Communities Step In During Medical Crises

When a family in the Orthodox Jewish community faces a medical crisis, the response is rarely from one person. It is a network — volunteers preparing meals at a warehouse in New Square, drivers heading to Manhattan hospitals, neighbors leaving food at a doorstep before Rosh Chodesh, women restocking 32 Chesed Rooms across 34 hospitals. Community support medical crisis coordination at this scale does not happen by chance. Chesed 24/7 was built to organize it.

The Shape of Community Response

Most families in a medical crisis receive help from three layers of support: their immediate family, their close neighbors and shul community, and a coordinating organization that sustains the response over time. Each layer matters. The first two are personal and improvised. The third is operational — and that is where Chesed 24/7 fits.

Community help hospital families need is rarely a single act of kindness. It is dozens of acts, repeated across days or months, by volunteers who do not necessarily know the family but who know the system. A meal prepared by one person in New Square ends up in a hospital room at Mount Sinai by afternoon, delivered by a driver who does not know what the patient is being treated for and does not need to.

The system is designed that way intentionally. Privacy is preserved. Coordination is centralized. The family receives support without having to explain their situation to dozens of strangers.

How Chesed 24/7 Coordinates a Crisis Support Network

Chesed 24/7 operates as a coordinating layer between volunteers, donors, and families. The organization has more than 2,000 volunteers across the tri-state area, and the work is divided into specialized teams.

The Warehouse and Food Volunteers

The Chesed 24/7 warehouse is located in New Square, NY. It includes a commercial kitchen designed specifically for the organization's operational needs.

About 85 women volunteers come to the warehouse each day, Sunday through Thursday, taking shifts from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. They prepare prepared foods that are stocked into Chesed Rooms across NY and NJ — fruits, vegetables, snacks, tuna and crackers, salads, blintzes, and baked ziti, all under New Square Hashgacha. Volunteer groups are organized by specialty: a salad group, a tuna-cracker group, others assigned to specific items as needed.

In the afternoon, driver volunteers come to the warehouse, fill their vans with the day's prepared food, and deliver to Chesed Rooms across the tri-state several times a week. The system runs continuously. As one volunteer puts it: "rain or shine, always food stocked in rooms."

Rosh Chodesh Volunteers

Beyond the warehouse, a network of community volunteers contributes monthly. Before each Rosh Chodesh, food items — coffee, wafers, noodle soups, snacks, and drinks — are gathered through neighborhood and personal networks. A coordinator confirms timing with each volunteer; the items are left outside the volunteer's door; Chesed 24/7 picks them up and delivers them to the warehouse for distribution to Chesed Rooms.

Shvil Hachesed Drivers

Male volunteers organized through the Shvil Hachesed program (run primarily by Skvere yungerleit) provide rides to hospitals — for appointments, bedside visits, and warm meal deliveries. Volunteers are vetted and registered in the Shvil Hachesed app. Calls come in to a central dispatch line; an available volunteer accepts the request and covers it.

The program is especially active in delivering to non-NY hospitals like Valley Hospital and Hackensack Meridian, where Chesed 24/7's regular shuttle service does not reach.

Smile 24/7 and Visit Volunteers

Smile 24/7 volunteers visit patients and homebound community members for companionship, music, and conversation. Volunteers are matched to individuals based on age, gender, language, and personality fit. Visits may be one-time or ongoing.

Toy Room and Gift Package Assembly

A dedicated Toy Room, refilled by donor contributions and an annual Chanukah toy drive, supplies the contents of Gift Packages assembled for hospitalized children, teens, and adults.

School and Bas Mitzvah Programs

Schools and bas mitzvah groups participate by coming to the warehouse or office to help package food, prepare meals for hospitals, or assist with Gift Package assembly. The Bas Mitzvah Teddy Bear Party gives girls a hands-on chesed experience: stuffing and dressing teddy bears that are then sent to hospitalized children.

The Office Staff

A coordinating staff of 16 women and 10 men handles fundraising, volunteer coordination, dispatch, and administrative work that keeps the volunteer-driven services running. This is the layer most families never see directly but rely on completely.

What Support Systems Exist for Families in Crisis

A family in the middle of a medical crisis does not have time to navigate a directory of services. The system works because everything connects through one phone number: (845) 354-3233. The on-call team identifies which services apply and arranges them.

The major services available through Chesed 24/7's volunteer-and-donor-supported network include:

• Hospitality space inside hospitals — Chesed Rooms at 32 hospitals, restocked daily
• Lodging near hospitals — Chesed Apartments at 28 Manhattan and tri-state locations
• Daily kosher meal delivery — hospital meals prepared in the warehouse and delivered bedside
• Shabbos and Yom Tov support — Shabbos in a Box weekly kits for hospitalized patients
• Hospital advocacy — hospital liaisons inside the building
• Transportation — hospital shuttles and Shvil Hachesed rides
• Medical equipment loans — medical supplies such as wheelchairs, walkers, hospital beds, and more
• Medicine Chest — network of 44+ medicine chest locations for after-hours OTC medication
• Visit support — Smile 24/7 home visits and bedside companionship
• Gift Packages — comfort packages for patients of all ages

Every one of these services depends on volunteer coordination at the operational layer.

Impact in Numbers

Specific scope of Chesed 24/7's community-supported infrastructure:

• 2,000+ active volunteers across the tri-state area
• ~85 women volunteers preparing food at the New Square warehouse daily, Sunday–Thursday
• 32 hospitals with active Chesed Room support across NY and NJ
• 28 Chesed Apartment locations near major Manhattan and tri-state hospitals
• 44+ medicine chest locations
• 26 office staff (16 women, 10 men) coordinating services and fundraising
• Monthly Rosh Chodesh food collection across NY, NJ, and CT
• 24/7 phone line: (845) 354-3233

Stories From the Field

A grateful family wrote a thank-you letter to Chesed 24/7 listing the services they used during a hospital stay: a fully stocked Chesed Room, nightly suppers with a different menu each night, a Shabbos package, snacks, and the shuttle service. The writer noted that "the community connections pulled me back into the world outside the hospital."

What that letter describes is the full crisis support network in action — not a single volunteer or a single service, but the cumulative effect of the entire operation. The Chesed Room was stocked because women in New Square had been at the warehouse that week. The supper menu rotated because a coordinator planned it. The Shabbos package arrived because a different team prepared it. The shuttle ran because a driver volunteered.

None of those volunteers met the family. They did not need to. The system carried the connection.

How This Connects to Chesed 24/7's Larger Mission

Community support medical crisis coordination is the underlying architecture behind every Chesed 24/7 service. Patient-facing programs (Chesed Rooms, kosher hospital meals, apartments) and behind-the-scenes operations (warehouse, dispatch, food collection, Shvil Hachesed, Toy Room, schools and bas mitzvah involvement) function as a single ecosystem. The phone number remains the same regardless of which service a family needs: (845) 354-3233.

How You Can Get Involved

Volunteer

Volunteer roles span every part of the operation:

• Warehouse food preparation — Sunday–Thursday, 8 a.m.–3 p.m. shifts in New Square. Specialized groups (salads, tuna and crackers, baked goods).
• Driving and delivery — afternoon delivery routes from the warehouse to Chesed Rooms. Long-distance routes through Shvil Hachesed.
• Hospital visits — Smile 24/7 volunteer visits to patients and homebound community members.
• Rosh Chodesh food collection — monthly contributions of kosher snacks and drinks gathered from NY, NJ, and CT.
• Toy Room and Gift Package assembly — packing comfort items for hospitalized patients.
• School and bas mitzvah groups — group volunteering at the warehouse and office.

Current opportunities are listed on the get involved page. Phone: (845) 354-3233.

Donate

Volunteer hours are donated, but operating costs — food, vehicles, fuel, apartment maintenance, supplies — are real and continuous. All Chesed 24/7 services are free to families and supported entirely through donor contributions. Sponsorship options exist for individual rooms, apartments, weekly food preparation, Shabbos kits, Gift Packages, and program expansion. Those who wish to support this work can donate or learn more about sponsorship.

Request Help

Families needing help during a hospital stay or other medical crisis can call (845) 354-3233 at any hour.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do communities help during medical emergencies?

Community help hospital families need typically comes through three layers: immediate family, close neighbors and shul community, and a coordinating organization that sustains the response over time. Chesed 24/7 operates as the third layer for the Orthodox Jewish community across NY and NJ — coordinating 2,000+ volunteers across food preparation, hospital visits, transportation, lodging, and Shabbos support, all reachable through one phone number.

What support systems exist for families in crisis?

Through Chesed 24/7, families have access to 32 Chesed Rooms across 34 hospitals, 28 Chesed Apartments for lodging, daily kosher hospital meals, Shabbos in a Box, hospital liaisons, hospital transportation, medical equipment loans, 44+ medicine chest locations, Smile 24/7 visits, and Gift Packages. Services are free, available 24/7, and accessible through (845) 354-3233.

How can I volunteer with Chesed 24/7?

Volunteer roles include warehouse food preparation (Sunday–Thursday 8 a.m.–3 p.m. in New Square), delivery driving, hospital visits, Rosh Chodesh food collection, Toy Room and Gift Package assembly, and Smile 24/7 home visits. Schools and bas mitzvah groups can volunteer as a group. Call (845) 354-3233 or visit the get involved page.

Is Chesed 24/7 a volunteer-run organization?

The bulk of direct service work is volunteer-driven, with more than 2,000+ volunteers across the tri-state. A coordinating staff of 26 in the central office handles dispatch, fundraising, and administration. All services to families are provided free of charge.

How are donations used?

Donations cover operational costs that volunteer hours cannot — food purchasing, vehicle and fuel costs, apartment rent and maintenance, warehouse operations, supplies for Chesed Rooms, Gift Package contents, and program expansion. Sponsorship options at multiple levels are available on the donate page.

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