Herzl Camp Continues to Win for Winston
October 11, 2010 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Letters from Alumni.
By Zoe Stern
A few months ago, fellow Herzl alum Bryan Grone wrote about former camper and staff member Michael Winston and his courageous fight against ALS.
Last night over 350 people gathered from all over the country to help Michael continue his fight. The second annual Winning for Winston raised an astounding $200,000 and heightened the communities awareness of this horrible disease and what it is doing to Michael. To say the community “showed up” would be an understatement. The outpouring of support could not be missed, and was overwhelming. A large part of that community has a connection to Herzl Camp.
As is evident over and over again this group came together and rallied in support of someone who needs it. Included in the evening was a great presentation MC’d by Don Shelby and including a video made by Ben Cohen featuring Michael. Please take a moment to watch it and really understand what Michael goes through on an everyday basis.
To see the video, click here.
The evening wrapped up with a typical campfire song session (sans campfire…I can’t imagine Oakridge would have appreciated that) put on by Bryan Grone and Doug Baldinger. As expected, the singing went longer than scheduled and turned into a 12 Gates episode. I’m pretty sure us Herzl kids would have sat there all night if we could. ALS and what it has done to Michael is heartbreaking, his community will continue to support him in every way possible. Neither Herzl Camp or ALS research is possible without your support.
If you are able, please consider making a donation to Herzl Camp or ALS-TDI. Thank you for all of your past, current and future support.
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“may we be blessed, as we go on our way”
June 15, 2010 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Letters from Alumni.
By Bryan Grone
Many a Friday night song session came to a close with these words. I was blessed to hear them sung by one of the most soothing voices I have heard, and ever will hear, Flip Frisch. I was honored to be able to sing them to campers and staff for my numerous years at camp. And I find solace in knowing the tradition of that amazing moment lives on and on in the woods of Webster.
In writing this blog, I wanted to share how I have personally been blessed by all things “machaneh”, as I have gone on my way from the 54893.
Music is the center of my life, and it ALL started at camp. I was, at one point, a scared, geeky middle-school kid who “sang” Girls by the Beastie Boys at a talent show in the Ulam. I sat in Cabin Aleph with my friends Michael Winston and Doug Baldinger, struggling to pick out my first few notes on the guitar. And then it all began for me. The fireplace stage in the Chadar became my training grounds. Everything I did at camp prepared me for a life filled with music, from playing song sessions and creating music with kids, to generally increasing my comfort level of being on stage and thinking on my feet.
Flash forward to 2010, and all of these lessons learned are helping me in my current career in music. Though my 9-5 has me dealing with the business side of music, I spent the last year leading music for K-6th graders at Temple Israel of Hollywood on the side, thanks to a wonderful connection from Sarah (Raful) Whinston. Though it is nothing like a rowdy mega lunch song session at camp, its still very cool for me to see kids get in a single file line, hands on each others shoulders, parading around the room singing “Bunch, Bunch, Bunch…”, or getting questions from staff on where that amazing Psycho Killer-Eretz Tzavat mash-up came from.
Another Herzl-related blessing in my life manifests itself in my group of friends, a group spread out all across the country (not unlike all of yours), which finds itself always ready to pick back up where it left off. We have had two very large group trips in the last 14 months, each with over 25 in attendance, and nearly all of them Herzl alumnus. The driving force behind these trips has been to get as many of us as we could in one place to spend time with our close friend Michael Winston. As many of you may or may not know, Michael was diagnosed with ALS (commonly known as Lou Gherig’s disease) in October of 2008. Since that time, an amazing grassroots support system has developed in our community called Winning for Winston, a non-profit that works directly with the ALS Therapy Development Institute to help fund the search for a cure to this disease. I’d like to take this opportunity to plug the Winning for Winston site where we have raised over $140,000 so far!!
So thank you, Herzl camp, for all the things you taught me, all the ways you continue to play a role in my day to day life, and for all the ways you will affect me in the future.
“May this be our blessing, amen.”