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2064270 52 April 28 • 2016 Giving Back Two moms started a lunch program for parents with hospitalized children. L ocal parents of hospitalized children have one less thing to worry about, thanks to Miriam Amzalak and Sheina Rivkah Bennish, both of Oak Park, who organize lunches for these parents. When someone contacts the Mushka Perel Parents Lunch Program, Amzalak and Bennish inquire about allergies, kashrut stringencies and about other children in the home. As well as tapping into their vast network of volunteers to find someone to prepare a hot, nutritious lunch, they also prepare special treats for the other children in the home, who often experience anxiety while their parents tend to their sick sibling. In case of a sudden hospitalization, a freezer is well-stocked with ready meals that are heated up before being delivered by volunteer drivers. Amzalak is no stranger to being a par- ent in the hospital. Her son Tzemach, 14 months, was born 11 weeks early and Amzalak spent five nail-biting weeks jug- gling being at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and tending to her six other children at home. "Taking my trauma and turning it into light for someone else gives my own experience more meaning," she said. She teamed with Bennish, who lost her second child, Mushka Perel, at birth in December. "The pain of losing a child is constant," said Bennish, mother of Dovid, 3. "To be able to take the love my daughter brought to my life and share it with someone else who needs it is very meaningful and heal- ing. She died but her light shines on." Since many parents put their children's needs before their own, especially when they're sick, and with limited kosher food available for purchase in Detroit-area hospitals, parents are likely to find them- selves skipping meals altogether. "This program allows each parent to stay right where they want to be, with their child, while a delicious meal is brought directly to them," Amazlak said. "It's really so much more than just a lunch." Devorah Seyburn of Oak Park received lunches when her baby contracted a virus and was hospitalized. "It was so nice to know that while I was focused exclusively on my child's needs, someone else was thinking of mine," Seyburn said. As much as the program is appreciated by the receivers, it also benefits the giv- ers, who often feel helpless when hearing about a sick child and want to help the family in some concrete way but don't know how. Many of the volunteers are parents who were once on the receiving end after a recovery from surgery or other illness, and are eager to give back to the commu- nity who helped them. Life with children can be unpredictable as evidenced by the 18 parent lunches that were delivered to three different local hospitals in the first three weeks alone after the program began. Amzalak and Bennish are grateful for the tremendous response to their par- ent's lunch program, for the donors and volunteers as well as generous companies, like Jerusalem Pizza of Southfield, Y2K catering and Paper Goods PLUS, both of Oak Park. While their primary goal is to help sup- port parents with children in the hospital, they would extend their services to any caregiver with a loved one in the hospital. "We don't want to be successful because we don't want anyone to be in need of hospitalization," Bennish said. "But we feel privileged to support families who are in this situation, in any way we can do so. We know pain and we know compassion because we have also been on this path." * To order a meal or to volunteer, call or text (248) 677-1465 or email MPParentlunch@gmail.com. Sheina Rivkah Bennish and Miriam Amzalak, both of Oak Park, are giving back by providing lunches to parents who have a hospitalized child. Rochel Burstyn | Contributing Writer health & wellness »