Warren Spector (l-r) of Bear
Stearns, Jay Feinberg of Gift of Life
Bone Marrow Foundation, and
author Evan Handler. | GIFT OF LIFE BONE MARROW FOUNDATION
Event Raises Million Bucks
With Warren Spector’s Help  EAR STEARNS is a Wall Street financial giant that has always had a long tradition of charitable involvement. For president and COO Warren Spector, it was an instant decision to get involved with one more charity – the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation. This one hit close to home.
His sister Ruthie was slated for a very risky bone marrow transplant at Sloan-Kettering. “As a physician, certified in three different disciplines – and you thought I was smart! – Ruthie’s life purpose has been to save lives,” Spector said at the Gift of Life dinner. His mother used to say, “You would trust a stranger? Warren, you can only trust your family.” “We, Mom,” Spector said, “more than 60,000 strangers have been tested to see if they might be the perfect match for Ruthie. Hey, you always said you wanted a big family.” Half of the people who answered are in Israel, the rest in the U.S. and Canada. They answered the call of Jay Feinberg, the foundation’s executive director. “The kindness of strangers,” Spector said, “was only a phrase from a Tennessee Williams play until the yeshiva students, Israeli soldiers, housewives and all the other potential donors showed up to be tested.” As a result of the testing done for Ruthie, 17 matches were found for other people in need of a bone marrow transplant. Evan Handler emceed the dinner at the New York Hilton, which raised more than $1 million. Handler is the author of Time on Fire: My Comedy of Errors, a moving memoir of his dealing with leukemia and bone marrow transplant. | 
