Lisa
Buksbaum's Monthly Letter: March, 2007
Finding
Balance Inside Chaos
This month’s weather in New York has been the perfect metaphor
for “expecting the unexpected.” 70-degree weather one day followed
by a blizzard two days later. The snow storm coincided with
my community’s annual prayer weekend in the country (two hours
north of New York City). Undeterred by a few flurries, I set
out in the car on Friday afternoon assuring my friend Sheryl,
“it must be a slow news day that they are making such a big
deal of the storm, we’ll beat it...” Before leaving Manhattan
we stopped in a service station because the windshield wipers
suddenly stopped moving. After a two-minute tune up we were
on our way, spirits high. After driving ten miles an hour for
two hours…Sheryl started to panic. As we rode north, the snow
started falling heavier.
Another three hours later, we stopped in a gas station 25 miles
away from the retreat center in Northern Connecticut. A friendly
truck driver told Sheryl that the country roads ahead were treacherous.
It was getting dark. That was it -- she did not want to go another
mile. We eventually made our way to a lovely inn where 100 other
travelers had spontaneously landed due to the weather conditions.
When we got out of the car and dropped our bags in the hotel
room, my legs started wobbling from the stress of driving through
the blizzard. I had to surrender my “never give up” stance on
Friday night and settle into a new reality, not the one I wanted,
but one that had some blessings and comfort. The inn had a big
fireplace in the pub room and we moved two oversize chairs directly
in front of the fire, piled in some logs and set some napkins
on fire to get things going. We settled in for the next four
hours enjoying a delicious dinner, great conversation, and warmth.
The next morning a friendly groundsman helped plow the car
out from under a snow bank. The hotel happened to have an indoor
pool so I was able to have a delicious morning swim before resuming
the journey. The roads had been plowed all night so we arrived
at our destination in less than an hour. The shortened weekend
in nature and community was just what I needed. Yoga. Walking
in crunchy snow. Incredible lectures. Camaraderie. I was glad
that we had not turned back.
How
far are you willing to go to reach your dreams? How do
you find joy or gratitude when things are constricted and not
as you had planned? That’s what Soaringwords is all about. Each
month, we spent a lot of time sharing hospital programs and
our website to inspire ill children and their families to find
refuge within the storm of serious illness.
Photo above: Soaringwords
volunteers (Robin Cofer; Jonathan Hageman and Adam Rosenfield
of Massey Knakal) share SoaringQuilts and SoaringPillows with
patients at Beth Israel Hospital.
As we look towards Spring, we hope you’ll join us on May 15
at the second annual Soaringwords 5K Walk & Run…. or make
a donation today to support Soaringwords’ Hospital Outreach
programs. Invite your friends, family, and co-workers to join
you and create a team. Click
Here to learn more and sign up. 100% of your donations will
support hospital programs at Beth Israel Hospital, NY Weill
Cornell, and the Children’s Hospital of New Orleans. We also
have wonderful employee volunteer programs to share with Summer
Associates and co-workers. Please Click
Here for the corporate volunteer program summary.
This month we’re delighted to welcome two New
Board Members, Eric Holtzman, VP of Marketing
and Sales at Prudential. Eric is responsible for long-term care
insurance. He and his wife lost their first child six years
ago. Today they are the parents of two healthy children. Cheryl
Saban is a Partner in the employment law department at Paul
Hastings.
Speaking of talent, we’re accepting college and high school
students for the 2007
Soaringwords Summer Internship Program.
We already have students from the University of Pennsylvania,
Tufts and other schools. Please Click
Here to download online application and share it with terrific
students.
In the News
Soaringwords was selected by Toys “R” Us for one-day shopping
event known as “R” Cause For Celebration. The Celebration allows
participating non-profit organizations to sell $5 shopping passes
to the event with 100% of the proceeds benefiting the cause.
At the Celebration guests have the opportunity to participate
in a unique shopping experience including discounts, entertainment,
special events and amazing prizes. The event will be held on
Saturday, May 5th from 8am-12pm at Toys “R” Us Time Square 1514
Broadway at 44th Street, Time Square, New York. If you would
like to purchase the $5 pass contact us at Heal@soaringwords.org
Best of the Best
You know who you are. Thanks for doing something truly wonderful
to help us soar higher. This month we want to thank:
Robin Cofer, Orrin Feingold, Alisa Sakai, Michael Silverman,
Friends at Goldman Sachs for the Capacity Academy, Joan Ai &
the CVNY board for inviting Soaringwords to be part of the CVNY
community partners fair; Cheryl Saban, Mary Jane Artese, Kelley
Meyer, Joanna Zuniga & Robyn Saunders of Paul Hastings Janofsky
& Walker LLP; Ann Bowman of Transformational Energetics,
Jane Geever & Sherry Seward of the Foundation Center for
their wisdom and insights; Michelle Brauntuch & Jackie Stein
for sharing Soaringwords with your friends; Charlie Gross for
filming the video footage and for our audience – Sheryl Kaye,
Nancy Silva, Stephanie Keating, Miriam, Liz, Natalie and Sam
Elting, Larry Horvitz, and the rest of the gang; Marcia Graham
of Beth Israel Hospital; Jonathan Hageman & Adam Rosenfield
of Massey Knakal; Columbia Women in Business for inviting me
to speak at the Annual Conference- Professor Ray Horton, Anne
Greenberg and the CWIB Board; Joyce Roche CEO of Girls Inc.;
Felicia Sol, Lauren Holtzblatt, Dara Frimmer & Chen Tsfomi
for leading a wonderful retreat; Terry Yoffe of TRY Coaching.
Sending you much love and soaring energy,
Lisa Honig Buksbaum
CEO & Founder, Soaringwords
lisa@soaringwords.org
212-290-7627
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