12 June 20 • 2019
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wenty years ago, Rabbi Elimelech 
Goldberg, more affectionately 
known as Rabbi G, turned a per-
sonal tragedy of losing his 2-year-old 
daughter Sara to leukemia into some-
thing that has brought power, peace and 
purpose to children who have been diag-
nosed with cancer and other diseases.
Today, his organization Kids Kicking 
Cancer (KKC) has reached approx-
imately 15,000 children around the 
world, from those who visit the dojo in 
Southfield to as far away as Israel and 
Italy.
“Our goal is to reach every child in 
the world,
” said Rabbi G, who is founder 
and international director of KKC, as 
well as clinical assistant professor in the 
Department of Pediatrics at Wayne State 
University School of Medicine in Detroit. 
“Giving children the tools to breathe in 
the light and blow out the darkness gives 

them a sense of power.
”
Rabbi G and Ruthie, his wife of 40 
years, experienced the heartbreak of 
losing their first child Sara in 1982. And 
while the death of any child presents a 
“significant challenge” to any marriage, 
according to Rabbi G, the experience 
brought the couple closer and launched 
the organization that is celebrating its 
anniversary in June. 
“My inspiration was Sara,
” Rabbi G 
said. “She was my first inspiration. I feel 
this ongoing connection with my daugh-
ter and her soul. My daughter continues 
to ‘
travel’
 with me.
”
Kids Kicking Cancer plans an anni-
versary celebration later this summer 
and the renaming of its offices and dojo 
in Southfield to the Natalie and Manny 
Charach Global Kids Kicking Cancer 
Center, thanks to a $1.2 million donation 
by the couple. 
Rabbi G said the donation will allow 
KKC to grow its global therapy by 
investing in sustainable program systems 
and computer-based platforms. KKC has 
created video training for its growing 
staff and volunteers and has invested in 
proving its cost-effective therapeutic pro-
gram for children. 
“Our goal is to use this funding to fur-
ther integrate our care as a standard of 
pediatrics, using our simple but effective 
tools,
” he said. “We have seen wonderful 
results that compare favorably with more 
difficult and costly interventions. In our 
brain scans, we have evidenced profound 
neurological benefits compared with 
mindfulness or distraction.
” 

KKC GOES GLOBAL
Kids Kicking Cancer is now in 72 insti-
tutions globally. In addition to the pro-
gram continuing its work in Michigan 
hospitals, it is in nine hospitals in Israel 
and 12 in South Africa. Rabbi G and 
his staff are now looking to bring the 
program to children in Zimbabwe, 
Botswana and Mozambique as well as 
Egypt and Jordan.
Rabbi G said the mission of the orga-
nization, which is to ease the pain of 
very sick children while empowering 
them to heal physically, spiritually and 
emotionally, transcends religions and is 
now ready to be taken “to the next level.
”
“This is an important time in our 
progress,
” he said. “By 2025, we have a 
goal of reaching 1 million children.
”
KKC is doing that by building up its 
digital and electronic platforms so that 
program information can be viewed 
across the globe. The organization is 
also keeping activities local, including 
teaching children at Pepper Elementary 
School in Oak Park about the program, 
which includes recognizing pain but 
using breath, meditation and martial arts 
movements to get past it.
“We teach children to imagine the 
pain and break through it,
” said Rabbi 
G. “We teach every child the power of 
martial arts and that it centers you in the 
soul.
”
Rabbi G added that the program 
inspires children to feel empowered and, 
in turn, transforms them into teachers 
who can teach their parents and other 
adults about power and focus that comes 

ABOVE: Kids Kicking Cancer 

instructors teach young people at 

Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, 

Israel. The KKC program is in 

nine hospitals in Israel and in 72 

organizations worldwide. 

continued on page 14

PHOTOS COURTESY OF KIDS KICKING CANCER

Blowing Out 
the Darkness
Kids Kicking Cancer celebrates 20 
years of bringing power, peace, 
purpose to sick children.

ELIZABETH KATZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

