Spotlight on Mischa Zimmerman

Catastrophic illness inspires one boy to influence thousands.
It All Began When He Was Age13.

This is the way Mischa put it: For about a year, I would wake up every morning feeling sick to my stomach. I was never the kind of kid who complained about being sick. I was too busy playing soccer, doing my schoolwork, being with friends. But I started losing weight, and even though my Mom took me to all kinds of doctors, all they said was I had postnasal drip. Turns out I had a highly malignant brain tumor.
I remember the day we went to the hospital after a MRI revealed a mass on my cerebellum. That was the moment my life changed forever.

A year after Mischa Zimmermann was released from being in the hospital for 14 months, he started Kids Helping Kids (KHK) with the help of his mother, Henia Drucker. Ever since, the nonprofit has been providing mobility devices, such as wheelchairs and motorized scooters, to disabled and seriously ill children to help them move around and maintain their daily lives. KHK volunteers, both those whom receive services and those with a passion to aid their less fortunate peers, raise necessary funds by using talent and ingenuity.

Drucker, a licensed clinical social worker, maintained a private practice until her son Mischa got sick. She hoped he would be able to continue enjoying the company of good friends, something that KHK permitted. Mischa, of course, understood the importance of maintaining his mobility, communication and socialization first-hand. At age 14, post-surgery and prior to creating KHK, Mischa was dependent on a wheelchair, experienced extensive vision difficulties and lost the ability to speak clearly. For six months, the once thriving adolescent was “locked in;” he could not utter a word.

Most of my old friends had a hard time staying connected to me— it was like my brain tumor was contagious. They didn’t know how to react to my disabilities and the logistics of including me in their activities. I could understand; it was just as confusing for me. Eventually most of my friends moved on with the usual activities of teen life— having girlfriends, driving cars, taking vacations— without me. At times, my life felt extremely isolated and lonely.

When he could speak, however, Mischa empowered the first group of 40 volunteers to unite, and Kids Helping Kids officially began in his living room in 1997. KHK grew from that first meeting to what it is today, ten years later: an organization encompassing three main clubs in Montclair, New Jersey, satellite groups at colleges around the country and thousands of individual teen volunteers who have held events benefiting Kids Helping Kids. In addition to running events, volunteers visit young people in hospitals to offer companionship and the message that they have not been forgotten. Together, volunteers learn to pool their interests and talents to organize events, as well as engage in social entrepreneurship. To name a few fundraisers, the headquarter group has run Annual Soccer Cup Challenges inspired by Mischa’s love of the sport, toy drives and business ventures like selling handmade products.

Though Mischa died at age 22 on February 1, 2005, the great work of the organization continues to grow. Donations from KHK have included: a wheelchair lift in the home of a foster child who suddenly became disabled and could not leave the hospital because her family could not afford the equipment, a wheelchair lift in a van for a teenager paralyzed by a brain tumor, a wheelchair ramp for a girl with a progressive case of dystonia, accessible bikes for pediatric patients, sleds for team members who play ice hockey for the disabled and so much more for numerous children and teens.

Mischa suffered incredible bouts of pain and intermittent relapses, yet the dedicated leader graduated on time from Montclair High School, receiving a standing ovation when he walked to get his diploma. Mischa then attended New York University, where he initiated a Kids Helping Kids NYU chapter and continued to oversee the national operation while studying comedy writing. The persistent young man got around on his motorized scooter, shuttling from classes on campus to events in Montclair to raise funds and connect with disabled kids and volunteers alike through KHK.

Today Mischa’s legacy lives on through Kids Helping Kids. The nonprofit sponsors events and fundraisers with the same fervor as when Mischa played an integral role in organizing the activities. The present focus of the organization’s fundraising activities is a much needed Teen Lounge at Children’s’ Specialized Hospital, where Mischa spent months getting back many physical functions he had lost during his first operation. The lounge will be named for Mischa and Kids Helping Kids, and will provide a refuge for teens enduring difficult hospital stays. The lounge will be a place to for teens to learn about what services are available, a place to share their stories, a place to hang out with other kids— a place where Mischa would have loved to socialize.

According to friends, volunteers, Mom Drucker and Caren Patterson, vice president of KHK, nothing kept Mischa down in spite of his battle with brain cancer. Those following in Mischa’s footsteps have the potential to make catastrophic illnesses feel like less of burden and more of an inspiration for kids everywhere.

For information about Kids Helping Kids, call (973)783-0697 or visit www.kidshelping.org. Send contributions to: KHK, 229 Midland Ave., Montclair, NJ 07042.