Amy Kossoff
Making Philanthropy Personal
By Pauline Dubkin Yearwood

To hear her tell it, Dr. Amy Kossoff never set out to make the world a better place. The Washington, D.C., internist "fell into" working with indigent patients after she graduated from medical school and was looking for a job, she says.

And when one of those patients was short, say, $3 to pay for a prescription, it was simple practicality that made her pull out her wallet and give him the amount he needed.

As for Womenade, a charitable organization that Kossoff and a group of friends founded, it all started as a simple birthday dinner where the women decided to bring a donation along with a potluck dish.

In such small ways, Kossoff, 49, has helped keep countless members of Washingtons working poor both working and not so poor.

She credits her Jewish upbringing and hard-working, compassionate parents with instilling in her the values that still drive her life. Her mom and dad didnt have much time for volunteering, she says, but "they always wanted to help people in need, animals in need. I was always bringing home stray dogs, and they always found a place for them."

True to form, today Kossoff and husband Rob, also a physician, have three dogs—and three children, ages 12, nine and five.

After graduating from George Washington University Medical School with a specialty in internal medicine, Kossoff began working at agencies that served an indigent and homeless population, such as Healthcare for the Homeless, where she is the staff physician.

Struck by how a small amount of money—to buy groceries, pay a utility bill, put a deposit on a modest apartment—could make all the difference in a persons life, Kossoff was often ready with her checkbook when a patient couldnt find the funds.

After several years of this, she realized she had given away more than $10,000. With a family and a 100-year-old Chevy Chase, Md., house to renovate, "it was getting out of control." The solution came in 2000, when she was discussing the problem with a group of women who were at her house for a birthday potluck dinner. One friend suggested that the next time the group got together, each member should make a small donation. They decided on $35. That friend, Lisa Herrick, also came up with a name for the endeavor. "If you have lemons, you make lemonade," she said. "If you have women, make Womenade."

The group raised $3,500 the first year, $5,000 the next. With no administrative costs, all the money goes directly to needy individuals, most of them referred by social workers. After an article appeared in a national magazine in 2002, Womenade groups began springing up around the country.

"Weve given out $800 in just the last two days," Kossoff says. "I see the need constantly. And these people never want much. Such a small amount can do so much good."