Caring About Those Who Give Care

By Laura Shin

When the Rev. Marion Gambardella was battling breast cancer more than a decade ago, she didn’t see it as an obstacle—she saw it as another reason to help people.

“The cancer was a good thing—it got me off the ground to do my work,” said Gambardella, associate minister and director of the Health and Wellness Ministry Program at The Unity Center in Manhattan.

Gambardella is a healing therapist, spiritual counselor, teacher and minister. She also spearheaded the community outreach program at The Unity Center in 2001.

One outreach project she is particularly passionate about is Care for the Family Caregiver, which helps caregivers manage stress and other challenges as they care for the loved ones who need them.

She was, again, inspired by a personal experience. Her husband became ill in 2008 and eventually had to be placed in a nursing home.

“I felt like I was getting so emotionally drained taking care of him. Being as resilient and strong as I am, I thought, what are other people doing? And how could I help?” she said.

Gambardella began making presentations to caregivers and offering stress release programs through organizations such as EmblemHealth.

She also established a Care for the Family Caregiver program at The Unity Center, offering a monthly support group meeting where she provides relaxation techniques, resources and reminders that caregivers shouldn’t forget who they are as they care for others.

As a person of strong faith, Gambardella said she has always had a desire to help people and that she has been blessed with the gift to heal.

“I can scan a body and know exactly where the blockage is,” she said.

But Gambardella said her work isn’t some kind of phenomenon. She believes healing power is a natural ability that all people have within them. She just teaches people how to tap into it.

She also believes stress and emotional problems are often at the root of illnesses and need to be resolved in order for healing to occur.

Born and raised in New Haven, Conn., Gambardella moved to New York to pursue a singing career. Her work in the opera led her to meet her husband, renowned tenor Giovanni Consiglio. She has often used her connections in the music world to organize fundraising concerts.

Gambardella also led a successful career in office management at major law firms.

In the early 1990s, she completed her studies at The Unity Institute, where she became licensed to teach and counsel. She was later ordained as an interfaith minister at The New Seminary of New York.

She is a long-time Upper West Side resident. In her spare time, she said she enjoys visiting her husband at the nursing home and going out to dinner with friends.

“I’ve lived a full life,” said Gambardella, who declined to provide her age. “If I left the planet tomorrow, I’d be satisfied. I’ve done something to serve and I feel good about that.”

Still, she wants to do more. She said she would like to work with young caregivers to help them live a full life, as well as work with young single moms to give them hope for the future.

“I’d love to get out there and reach more people, help them tap into their spirituality,” she said. “That’s one of my goals.”