Lifelong active member of the Kansas City Jewish community, Gerean Rudnick (80), has always been known as a great communicator and an avid giver. In November 2013 Rudnick was diagnosed with a brain tumor that has prohibited her ability to communicate, but she and her family are still giving. {mprestriction ids="1,3"}Despite the physical challenge and emotional hardship, Rudnick’s daughters, Melynn Sight and Lenise Ward, are helping their mother donate to her long-time benefactor, Children’s Mercy Hospital.
And they aren’t just writing checks. Sight, Ward and their families have created ways of giving that go beyond monetary donations.
“Mother was always the queen of communication,” Ward said. “She would communicate her thoughts to help those in need — oftentimes through cards. She has even been called The Card Lady.”
By sending cards, going for lunches, making phone calls and donating time and funds, Rudnick has lived her life giving to others. “But she can’t give cards or take friends to lunch anymore,” Ward said.
Now, people are bringing Rudnick well wishes in the form of food, cards, cookies and candy.
“We wanted to turn our mother’s illness into a positive that she and Children’s Mercy could benefit from. We thought instead of people bringing food, why not ask them to give 10 dollars (or any amount) to carry on Gerean’s legacy of giving,” Sight said.
And so, the Team Gerean project was born. Sight and Ward had wristbands made and asked visitors to take one. The idea was to carry on, literally, Gerean’s passion for giving to others. Proceeds go to Children’s Mercy and Team Gerean has raised more than $1,000 so far.
And so, the Team Gerean project was born. Sight and Ward had wristbands made and handed them out to visitors and donors. The idea was to carry on, literally, Rudnick’s passion for giving to others. Proceeds go to Children’s Mercy and Team Gerean has raised more than $1,000 so far.
“We were flabbergasted that so many people stepped forward to help,” Sight said.
Why Children’s Mercy? Rudnick has supported many causes in her life but Children’s Mercy was always dear to her. As a child, Gerean was often the caregiver more than the child due to her mother’s ongoing illness. Her mother introduced Gerean to Children’s Mercy at a very young age so she could see and understand those less fortunate despite her experience of living with sickness in the house.
“She has always been dedicated to supporting kids, and her lifelong passion is to give to the less fortunate,” Ward said. “Gerean believes Children’s Mercy helps kids have better lives. If we can help get kids healthier then we’ve done a good thing in their early stage of life.”
Rudnick has made significant monetary contributions to Children’s Mercy during her life, and she is still giving in other ways as well. In December 2014, Rudnick dedicated the Wagon Corral to Children’s Mercy. Kids are taken in and out of the hospital via a red wagon.
“We serve more than 12,000 visitors weekly, many of which have small children,” said Nicki Johnson, manager of volunteer and guest services at Children’s Mercy.
“The wagons provide a fun and exciting way for our patients to ride to their clinic appointments, playroom activities or events on the inpatients units, or to the operating room for their upcoming surgery. The wagons also make our guest experience more convenient in that families can use the wagons to carry belongings to their destinations throughout the hospital. We always try to think of children in all we do at Children’s Mercy and a wagon is something that small children are familiar with, which might make their stay a little less stressful and more fun.”
Another form of paying it forward also began in December when Sight, Ward and their families donated their time in the hospital’s Snowflake Shoppe, a place where families of inpatients can “buy” gifts for their children. Each family is given snowflakes to purchase items from a store that contains donated items. Rudnick and her family created a greeting card making station there and helped parents make cards to accompany their gifts.
“Mom worked at Hallmark stores all her life,” Ward said. “The family wanted to honor her commitment through a more hands-on way of contributing where people could tangibly give time and effort to someone affected by Children’s Mercy. So we set up an area and helped make cards to accompany gifts for kids. We hope to make this an annual tradition.”
The emotional ride that Rudnick’s family is on is driven by positive efforts of helping others.
“There is always something bigger than ourselves. We always have challenges, but we can still do things to benefit others. We hope to show that you can do so much with tiny acts of kindness and that little things go a long way. Gerean believed that her whole life and she has touched people that didn’t even know her,” Sight said.{/mprestriction}