Avrum Mordche Schwartz with Shira Choir Sing Yiddish lyrics at the Chesed Appreciation Event on February 27 2014 in Ateres Avraham for the dedicated members of Chesed Williamsburg Music by Avrumi Berko – A Joel Brach Production

Chesed, is a community based volunteer organization providing Non-Emergency transportation for patients going for therapy and to families going to accompany patients in hospital, when public transportation or other options are not available. Chesed is based in Brooklyn New York with branches in Upstate NY.

CHESED OF WILLIAMSBURG… was founded in 1998, the culmination of a dream by two motivated members of the Williamsburg Hatzolah, a volunteer EMS organization, who shared an elderly and lonely neighbor who was in the hospital. Not only did they tend to the medical needs of their neighbor, but they arranged for a steady stream of volunteers to help him as well. After word spread about this great service, families needing assistance began requesting help, and within the year, a group of thirty volunteers was recruited to transport people to and from hospitals, often staying with patients overnight where needed. As the demands grew, a more advanced tracking system was implemented to reach the volunteers. Initially, a dispatcher would contact all members via beepers, but this was later upgraded to a text-messaging operation with a more sophisticated system.

Today, CHESED OF WILLIAMSBURG boasts over 350 fulltime volunteers, including 21dispatchers, CHESED services all hospitals in the metropolitan area, with unusual request for trips as far south as Baltimore, and as far north as Boston and Philadelphia, a remarkable 300 trips a day!

Last year 5773 Chesed of Williamsburg covered a total of 53,065 trips, 1,089,449 miles and saved for the Williamsburg Community (based on local car service prices) over 1.6 Million dollars.