New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care
119 West 23rd St., Suite 401
New York, NY 10003
Telephone: (212) 677-1087
Website: zencare.org
Contact: Koshin Paley Ellison
E-mail: Koshin@zencare.org
Description of Organization
New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care provides compassionate care to the sick and terminally ill to create a supportive, nurturing environment for people to consciously face their illness and/or end of life journey.
They do this through direct care partnerships with august healthcare partnerships in New York and beyond, through caregiver and pastoral training programs, and by actively advocating for contemplative care at the national level. NYZCCC does this work not only to relieve suffering but also to create a more courageous and harmonious world that provides compassionate care for all.
Grant(s) Awarded
In 2022, a grant in the amount of $10,000 was awarded to NYZCC, thereby matching a $10,000 grant introduced by the Lenz Foundation to, and funded by, the BESS Family Foundation. The grant specifically benefits BIPOC participants in the 2022-2023 Contemplative Medicine Fellowship, which is the first fellowship of its kind in the United States.
The inaugural 2021-2022 cohort had 34 Fellows consisting of physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, and physician assistants serving in a wide range of medical disciplines as clinicians, medical educators, and leaders. NYZCC learned from the 2021-2022 cohort that many of the medical doctors work in high-need communities and are themselves BIPOC leaders within the organizations they serve.
Beginning with the Fellowship, NYZCC envisions leading change through a portfolio of Contemplative Medicine programs that reach clinicians at the beginning of their training, as well as the practitioners, medical educators, and leaders throughout the field that the Fellowship serves. It is critical to ensure diverse cohorts at the beginning of this work because our Fellowship alumni will eventually serve as the trained mentors, facilitators, and champions of contemplative medicine for the Fellowship, future programs, and within their own communities.
The grants’ funding will be dispersed in partial or whole scholarships for BIPOC applicants to the Fellowship program.
In 2016, a grant in the amount of $15,000 was awarded to New York Zen Center for Contempative Care to hire a consultant to further their mission.
In 2015, a Pay it Forward grant in the amount of $100,000 was awarded to New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care to support NYZCCC as they embarked on a two-year multi-tier fundraising campaign, Champions of Compassionate Care, to engage new donors, upgrade established donors, and re-engage lapsed donors to grow their programs; both online and in person, training, and engage in national conferences and seminars.
In 2012, a grant in the amount of $10,000 was awarded to support New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care’s inaugural Buddhist Contemplative Care Symposium on Palliative and End of Life Care, presented in partnership with The Garrison Institute, in Garrison, NY, from November 8-11, 2012.
In 2011, a grant in the amount of $10,000 was awarded for general operating support for the following:
- Completion ACPE accreditation for chaplaincy training
- Establish more paid clinical partnerships
- Offer a Buddhist Studies Master in Divinity program in partnership with Union Theological Seminary, enabling students to become board-certified chaplains.
- Create a research study with Beth Israel’s Palliative Care and Integrative Medicine Department to determine the efficacy of chaplains in the hospital.
- Launch a teacher-training program.
- Establish workshops on self-care, grief, stress reduction and mindfulness at work.
- Work with healthcare partners to expand our bereavement and grief support programs.
- Address the critical need for a centralized training, gathering and administrative space.