Survivor. No, not the television show as I wish was the case. A young Jewish woman and personal friend Amy Farber is a real survivor contestant who was diagnosed with LAM (short for the fatal lung disease Lymphangioleiomyomatosis) about a year ago.

I met Amy Farber last spring at my high school in Los Angeles. She delivered an impassioned speech in which she revealed that there was no cure or treatment for her terminal disease. Amy and I had a lot in common, as we grew up in the same community. Her plight made me realize the importance of what the rabbis have been telling me for years: tikkun olam—my responsibility to help repair the world, and that even as one person, I CAN make a difference.

I felt compelled to help this brilliant and vibrant Jewish woman in her quest to stay alive. I just could not ignore her desperate need. I figured my best opportunity to raise awareness to the public as well as funds to support her cause was through my synagogue's MATCH program.

I am a member of the Board of Directors of MATCH: Money and Teenagers Creating Hope, a Teen Philanthropy Foundation of Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills, California made up of high school students. MATCH was started through an anonymous gift of $250,000, with slightly over $10,000 of interest generated per year. By studying Jewish traditions surrounding tzedakah, meeting with philanthropists, learning how to research non-profit organizations, making site visits, and meeting with representatives from the organizations we might choose to fund, our board chooses how that $10,000 should be donated. It is a hands-on experience of philanthropy that helps us prepare for a life-long commitment to tzedakah and tikkun olam.

On a personal note, Amy Farber was looking forward to starting a family when her ailment struck. The doctor offered no other help but vitamins. Amy found the lack of assistance to be outrageous. She decided to take action against this rare disease which typically affects women in their childbearing years. LAM affects thousands of women as their healthy lung tissue is destroyed by cysts that ultimately suffocate them. To this day, many patients remain undiagnosed.

Amy assembled a team of Nobel Prize-caliber scholars and inspired them to move on an extraordinary fast track to seek both a treatment and a cure for LAM. This is known as the LAM Treatment Alliance (LTA) and its Advisory Board consists of members representing Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to name a few. LTA has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and on The Charlie Rose Show and now receives global support.

With the equipment provided, doctors are optimistic about discovering a cure, but regrettably it may be too late for Amy. With the government's inability to react quickly, the LTA is virtually on its own. But the increased knowledge of LAM means that scientists are finding similarities to some forms of cancer. The good news is that while LTA is researching for a cure for LAM and Amy, scientists are finding valuable insight into the treatment of breast cancer, prostate cancer, melanoma, lung cancer, and diabetes.

Amy has helped establish a goal for people to help others in need of survival. Thanks to my experience with MATCH, I've learned that both philanthropists and survivors benefit from acts of charity.

For more information on Amy Farber and LAM, visit the website www.LAMTreatmentAlliance.org or email Amy at infor@LAMTreatmentAlliance.org.

Cliff Zimmerman, 16, is a sophomore at Brentwood High School in Los Angeles, Calif. He enjoys playing tennis for the school tennis team, playing trumpet in the orchestra and broadcasting both the football and basketball games on the school's radio station and website. When he gets a break, he spends time with friends, eats delicious meals and obsessively follows UCLA sports.