At the heart of Bikur Cholim of Raritan Valley are our dedicated volunteers and we always welcome new volunteers. Our volunteer coordinators will work with you to find the areas that work best based on your individual preference and timetable. However, the timing may vary with regard to filling a volunteer role, as it may take some time to best match the interests and abilities of our volunteers with the needs of the community. An immediate need may be ready to be filled, in which a new volunteer can take action right away. Or, volunteers may be placed on a call list – such as for food preparation or driving patients to appointments – and coordinators will follow up with volunteers as the need arises. Bikur Cholim volunteers who would like to begin volunteering at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital to visit patients, must first become a registered volunteer at the hospital. Our coordinators will happily help you through that process.
Please send checks to:
Bikur Cholim of Raritan Valley
7 Marshall Drive
Edison, NJ 08817
Or make a donation online.
Chaim v’Chesed Guest House is across the street from the Robert Wood Johnson and Bristol Myers Squibb Children’s hospitals, and Children’s Specialized. Call 732-859-4185. There are numerous hotels in the New Brunswick/Edison area. The American Cancer Society may be able to assist with housing needs, including negotiated rates at local hotels. Call 800-227-2345. We will also try to help you, though we do not maintain any housing ourselves. Please call our hotline to let us know your requirements.
Highland Park/Edison and New Brunswick have eruvim. Please see the eruv map at hperuv.org. To check the status of the eruv, call the Eruv hotline at 732-247-ERUV.
If you have used a cab or car service through Bikur Cholim, or used Bikur Cholim’s account to obtain medicine from Rite-Aid on Shabbat or Yom Tov, we will let you know the cost so that you can reimburse Bikur Cholim afterwards. Otherwise, there is no charge, but donations are always very welcome.
A part-time rabbi may be available at St. Peter’s. Please call the St. Peter’s Pastoral Care department, 732-745-8600, ext. 8565. There is no rabbi presently on staff at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital or at JFK Medical Center. Please call our hot line 732-572-7181 and we will try to find a rabbi for you.
Please call our hot line to discuss. Generally, to volunteer to visit in the hospital, Bikur Cholim volunteers must be over 18. Your teenager may be able to be a Chai Lifeline volunteer. Please call Sarita Kohn at 732-859-4185.
We are very sorry, but we are unable to send volunteers into the NICU. We recommend that you talk with the NICU nursing staff to arrange for family members to visit your baby.
No, we do not have any offices or staff in the hospitals.
We do our best to meet the dietary needs of Bikur Cholim clients. We can provide food that is salt-free, sugar-free and/or gluten-free. We can provide vegetarian or vegan meals. If you have very specific dietary restrictions, we suggest working directly with a nutritionist to assure that the hospital food meets your requirements.
We have a group of volunteers who prepare food in their own home kitchens. Each of our cooking volunteers is carefully chosen to assure that the laws of Kashrut are strictly observed — and that the food is tasty! We do not have institutional kitchens and there is no Rabbinic Mashgiach for our home-cooked foods.
Please call our hot line: 732-572-7181.
Our hot line is answered by volunteers. We make every effort to answer immediately, but of course, sometimes it is just not possible for our volunteer to do so. Please leave a voice message with your name and number. We try to return your call within two hours.