Jennifer's Birthday Wishes
Many children spend the weeks leading up to their birthday with visions of the latest toys and video games dancing in their heads. But Jennifer Kaufman's vision for her ninth birthday was a bit more inspired. On her invitation, Jennifer asked her friends and family to donate the money they would have spent on a present to Windows of Hope, a retail store that provides specialty products and services for cancer patients at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Jennifer visits the shop frequently with her grandmother, Carol Mayer, who volunteers weekly on the hematology/oncology floor of the hospital, where Windows of Hope is located. "I have tried on all the wigs, and the hats are really cute," she says of a recent trip. But no visit could have been more meaningful than the one when Jennifer passed along the $500 that she raised through her birthday efforts.
" 'To give is to receive', but to know this at such an early age is extraordinary!," says Linda Myers, manager of Windows of Hope. "At Windows of Hope, we make sure no one leaves the shop without what they need. Donations such as Jen's make it possible for our mission to continue."
