WBZ Cares: Dr. Murray Feingold's Legacy Lives On Through The Genesis Foundation For Children
BOSTON (CBS) -- Each month, WBZ NewsRadio 1030 will highlight a worthy non-profit organization and tell the story of what it does for the community.
The campaign will involve news reporting, public service announcements and interviews.
For the month of August, WBZ Cares will profile the Genesis Foundation for Children, which raises funds to enrich the lives of children affected by birth defects and other disabilities.
The Foundation was created by WBZ's own Dr. Murray Feingold back in 1982. Dr. Feingold passed away last year, but his legacy lives on through the foundation.
Feingold started the Genesis Foundation to help parents navigate the complicated and often confusing maze of medical care for their children with genetic disorders.
"He was serving more and more children with complicated and rare disorders and realized he needed to spend more and more time with them, and the cost of providing this care far exceeded what a typical visit might cost, or what insurance might reimburse. So he started the Genesis Foundation."
President Matthew Hoffman says the charity is the fundraising arm for three different programs, including the Feingold Center for Children at Children's Hospital, where patients go to receive their coordinated care. Dr. Catherine Nowak is the Clinical Director of the center.
"It's difficult to identify what tests might need to be done, how we might find the answer, it takes a lot of time and research behind the scenes. The Genesis Foundation actually allows us to spend that time to get those answers to families."
The Foundation also funds a performing arts program for children and a 24-hour pregnancy hotline for women who have concerns about hereditary genetic diseases. Both Hoffman and Dr. Nowak say, they feel honored to be able to help such amazing children in their time of need.
"The challenges they face are often really, really tough and they come through with so much grace, it's taught me a lot certainly."
"I feel it's just a privilege to take care of them, they have been so patient for so long. These kids come in and they are so full of just joy, and they don't realize they are different."
Nowak says Dr. Feingold taught her everything she knows.
"Children and families feel sometimes that nobody understands the struggles that they go through, he showed me the way to do it in the most compassionate way possible."
To date, the foundation has raised an estimate $70 million to help children with disabilities.
For more information, contact TheGenesisFoundation.org.