Adeline S. Zucker Chai Family Center Dedicated by Chai Lifeline

Cedarhurst, New York….Though the day was cold, the atmosphere inside the Adeline S. Zucker Chai Family Center was warm as her friends and family gathered together with Chai Lifeline’s professionals to dedicate the center in memory of a loving mother and the chesed  to which she devoted herself.  Mrs. Zucker’s presence was felt throughout the afternoon, as her children remembered her extraordinary life and looked forward to the impact that the Chai Family Center will have in the community.

“This chanukas habayis celebrates the memory of a wonderful woman, Adeline S. Zucker, a’h. It marks the continuation of her lifelong devotion to others and ours to serving our clients in the most effective way possible,” said Rabbi Simcha Scholar, executive vice president. “We are indebted to her children, Rabbi Saul and Cindy Zucker, Bryna Loewenstein Zucker, Jacqui and Tamar Eckstein, and Isaac and Renee Zucker, for ensuring the continuity of this important community program.”

“Chesed was one of my mother’s legacies to her family,” explained Rabbi Saul Zucker. “Because she taught us, through her actions, to always look out for others, we wanted to make her legacy tangible by bringing continuous support to the Jewish community. Today’s dedication of Chai Lifeline’s Long Island Chai Family Center in her honor accomplished this goal, while lending support to Chai Lifeline, an organization whose mission was very close to my mother’s heart.”

Rabbi Moshe Weinberger, mora d’asra of Congregation Aish Kodesh and the Aish Kodesh Institute, and Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum, mora d’asra of the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst, joined the Zuckers in celebration.

“Chai Lifeline is grateful for the outpouring of support from the community at the dedication,” remarked Rabbi Scholar.  “The Adeline S. Zucker Chai Family Center has become an important resource for families living in the Five Towns area, and Chai Lifeline is fortunate to partner with the community to bring this vital support to those in need.”    

Chai Family Centers offer professional guidance, convenience

The community-based Chai Family Center brings the compassion and professionalism of Chai Lifeline to families living in Queens, the Five Towns, and all of Long Island. Families have access to individual and family counseling and psychotherapy without long drives or commuting to New York City.

Chai Family Centers offer counseling and psychotherapy to children and adults impacted by pediatric illness, the serious illness of a parent, or the loss of a child or parent. Counseling and therapy are provided by licensed social workers and psychologists.  The centers offer weekly or biweekly counseling, depending on the client’s needs.  Therapists draw upon talk therapies, play therapy, and filial therapy, a discipline that trains parents to become the facilitators of play therapy, to help clients cope with the ramifications of illness.

 “The Adeline S. Zucker Chai Family Center is a lifeline to families coping with serious illness and bereavement, and an important resource for local schools when crises occur,” explained Andy Lauber, L.M.S.W., a Chai Lifeline social worker who counsels families at the Center.  “It’s fitting that the Center, which brings vital support to families when they need it most, bears the name of a woman who spent her life helping others.”  

 “Illness can affect the patient and his or her family in so many ways,” commented Tobi Cabat, D.S.W., director of family services and the coordinator of Chai Lifeline’s New York and New Jersey Family Centers. “A child may need therapy to prepare her emotionally for surgery, a father may ask for counseling upon the death of his child, and the sister of a seriously ill teen may need assistance coping with her anxiety about her sibling. Now, whenever these or any other circumstances arise, families can utilize the Adeline S. Zucker Chai Family Center.”

Rabbi Scholar noted, “Mrs. Zucker, a’h, was a passionate woman who fought for what she believed in, and she believed in Chai Lifeline’s children.   Over the years, her support enriched the lives of Chai Lifeline’s children, and the existence of the Adeline S. Zucker Family Center ensures that her legacy of chesed and tzedaka will live on.”