This year, Chai Cancer Care marks its 36th anniversary. It is a significant milestone for an organisation that began with a simple but powerful mission: that no one should have to face cancer alone.
When Chai was founded in 1990, cancer was rarely spoken about openly. A diagnosis could bring fear, uncertainty and isolation, at a time when there was little acknowledgement of the profound emotional and practical impact it could have on an individual and their loved ones.
Chai’s founders, Frances Winegarten z’l and Susan Shipman-Zuckerbrod, knew that impact personally. Susan’s daughter, Natalie z’l, was diagnosed with cancer at just three years old and died shortly before her eighth birthday. Frances experienced an aggressive cancer herself, enduring gruelling treatment. Both women knew the raw reality of cancer – illness, uncertainty and loss. But their experiences also showed them something else: that even through illness and bereavement, life could still have value, meaning and happy moments.
That belief has remained at the heart of Chai for 36 years.
Chai began as a telephone helpline from the founders’ homes, offering information and emotional support. Today, Chai helps thousands of clients from age three to 101 and now provides 70 services accessed at 11 hubs across the UK, alongside home support. Its services are also available online, enabling people around the world to access the help and guidance they need.
Physiotherapy and rehabilitation, counselling and couples therapy, complementary therapies, creative workshops, bereavement support, help for the carriers of the BRCA gene mutation, guidance on talking to children about cancer, support for carers, social groups and coaching for a return to work – these are just some of the ways Chai responds to the impact of a diagnosis.
The breadth of these services reflects something fundamental about the way we understand cancer. A diagnosis does not only affect the body. It can change relationships, family dynamics, confidence, work and everyday life. It can affect partners, children, parents, siblings, friends and carers. And the support someone needs can change as they move through diagnosis, treatment, recovery and bereavement.
Chai is here to respond to those different needs, providing professional support alongside something equally important: a place where people feel understood. But something else shines through – “the Chai Effect”. It’s the warmth, strength, resilience and even the laughter that emerges from professional, compassionate support and shared experiences.
This year, the Chai Effect is the theme of the charity’s matched funding campaign, taking place on November 29 and 30.
For 36 hours, our community will have the opportunity to come together and help ensure Chai can continue to provide this vital support. Thanks to generous match-funders, donations made during the November campaign will be doubled, turning one act of generosity into twice the impact.
Would you like to be involved in this year’s campaign as a team host? Email rachaelmartin@chaicancercare.org or call 0208 457 2077 to find out more.
For more information on Chai’s specialised services, call Charlotte Hildebrand on 020 8457 3238 or see chaicancercare.org
Registered charity 1078956