July 20, 2007

A mitzvah to benefit many

When the time drew near for 13-year old Madeline “Maddy” Tillman Tank to choose a mitzvah — a good deed — in celebration of becoming a Bat Mitzvah, she decided to contribute a significant portion of her Bat Mizvah gifts to support Parkinson’s disease research at the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders (MIND).

Leiba Ingber, Maddy’s grandmother and member of the Partners HealthCare Board of Trustees, and her husband, Larry, have been longtime supporters of the MGH Fund and the Parkinson’s disease research conducted at MIND under the direction of Anne B. Young, MD, PhD, chief of MGH Neurology Services. Because Maddy’s paternal grandfather has been living with Parkinson’s disease for more than a decade, and her maternal great-grandmother also had the disease, Maddy wanted to contribute in a meaningful way to help find a cure.

Maddy, left, and Young

On June 26, Maddy presented a check for $4,500 to Young to support the MGH’s research. In addition to contributing $1,500 of her own money, she asked her parents and grandparents to match her gift. Maddy toured the MIND labs, met with researchers and marked not only her rite of passage in the Jewish tradition but also the first step in her journey of charitable giving. Maddy plans to continue her efforts to raise additional funds in the coming months to support Parkinson’s disease research.