Dr. Kendall Billick and his wife, Katia recently moved from Montreal and wanted to connect with the Toronto Jewish community. A dermatologist and senior doctor at Toronto Western Hospital, Dr. Billick was interested in offering his medical expertise and possibly assisting in the Meals on Wheels program. They initially met with Janice Benatar, VP, Philanthropic Leadership at UJA Federation of Greater Toronto who referred them to the Bernard Betel Centre. After learning about our programs and services and the needs of our seniors, Dr. Billick found his niche. He could use his experience in dermatology to offer a screening clinic, free of charge to our members. Access to a dermatologist is extremely important for older adults and prompt diagnosis and treatment is critical. Skin-related issues include dry skin, shingles, dermatitis, and skin cancer.
Dr. Billick toured our chiropody clinic space to determine if it was suitable and found it was ideal for meeting, screening patients, and answering questions. We promoted the clinic and immediately all appointments were filled and had a waiting list. On Sunday, March 3, the Bernard Betel Centre was pleased to offer its first Dermatology Clinic to its members. At that initial clinic, Dr. Billick was able to diagnose 18 skin cancers, with half of the patients needing immediate attention. At the end of the clinic, Dr. Kendall reflected on his experience. “This was a privilege. I actually felt this was the real medicine a doctor seeks.” Thank you Dr. Kendall Billick for thinking outside the box and bringing important life-saving care to our Betel members! We are delighted there will be future clinics scheduled for the spring and summer.
Kendall was not the only member of the Billick family interested in volunteering their time. At our first meeting, he told us about his daughter, Noa who is an artist and designer. He thought she would be interested in facilitating an art program for our seniors. She could lead a program on the same day as the Dermatology Clinic and could assist with the clinic.
After speaking with her father, she immediately reached out to us to brainstorm ideas about a potential art program. As a first-year Ph.D. student at Toronto Metropolitan University, having a Master of Fine Arts from OCAD University and Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she not only had the skills and experience, but was very excited to join our volunteer team. It was difficult deciding on a program as she has many skills including printmaking, photography, digital illustration, and graphic design. Her main art practice is bookmaking and she suggested this could be of interest to our members. On the same day her father held his first Dermatology clinic, Noa lead her first art program, a Bookmaking Workshop. Members learned how to create their own softcover notebook and brought books from home that were in need of repair. After the workshop, Noa assisted her father by inputting the names of the patients from the clinic into a spreadsheet for future reference and follow-up. She shared with us, “I like to call myself an artist of all kinds, and that’s because I try everything at least once.” Self-taught in almost all types of art she has a curiosity and enjoys exploring things on her own. Her interests include sewing, embroidery, knitting, crocheting, screen-printing, and playing the ukulele.
“When my parents moved to Toronto from Montreal, I knew they would encourage me and help me join the Toronto’s Jewish community, which, due to COVID, I hadn’t had the chance to engage with as much as I would have liked. Then, after October 7th, I felt a call to give back, and it seems my dad did too – he wanted to start volunteering and found the Bernard Betel Centre.” Noa has generously offered her artistic skills to provide our members with an opportunity to explore their creativity, learn a new skill and have fun.
In addition to Dr. Billick’s role, a new volunteer position was created for the Dermatology Clinic. We needed someone to greet the patients, assist them in completing the paperwork, and control the flow of patients. Nataliia Nikolaieva began volunteering with us in October 2023 assisting in the computer program and with Meals on Wheels. Two months later, she was hired for a full-time position with Toronto District School Board in the Newcomer Services department. She wanted to continue volunteering but was only available on weekends. When the clinic was in the planning stages, we knew she was the ideal candidate for the new Clinic Assistant volunteer role. Her ability to speak English, Russian and Ukrainian, her background in human resources and administration, and her excellent customer service skills and ability to provide translation were key to the success of this volunteer role.
Nataliia came to Toronto from Ukraine in July 2022 with her 5-year-old daughter. She shares her story of migrating to Canada. “When the war started my life was destroyed in one moment. Here I had to begin my life from scratch. I wasn’t prepared for migration. My English was poor. My husband, my parents, and all my relatives stayed in Ukraine.” Her husband has now come to Canada and is self-employed. Her daughter, who two years ago did not know one word of English, is doing excellent in school. Nataliia is grateful for the Canadian government and the Canadian people. She adds, “I like to volunteer at the Bernard Betel Centre. I love people and like to help them with their needs. Helping elderly people makes me happier and helps me cope with homesickness. I would also really like to leave a positive impression on my country Ukraine through my activities.”
We are so pleased that Nataliia is able to continue her volunteer work with us. She is warm, professional, and compassionate, and provides the perfect welcome to our Dermatology Clinic patients.
We are thankful to Dr. Kendall Billick, Noa and Nataliia, and to our volunteers who so generously share their experience, knowledge and expertise as Program Facilitators. Thanks to them, we are able to expand our programs and offer new, unique experiences to our members. If you have a special skill that would be of interest to our seniors, we would love to hear from you.
