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You are here: Home / Archives for 2011

Archives for 2011

    Words That Move Us…

    January 18, 2011

    Back on December 5 we wrote here about a family in Arkansas who we had learned about from Randi Cairns at Homefront Hearts. Randi shared that John Smith*, the father, was a disabled veteran and that the family was struggling with no hot water heater, a poorly insulated house and little chance for some modest presents for the upcoming holiday. We offered to do what we could and sent along not only the gifts but also arranged for a new water heater as well as some insulation work on their home.

    A few weeks ago the following arrived here. While we know that the work that we do often has a significant impact, nothing quite prepared us for the eloquence and heartfelt emotions John shared with us. It reminded us of the very reasons why the Good People Fund exists and of how much of an impact we can make. Please read through and see for yourself…

    22 December 2010

    My Dear Ms. Eisenberger,

    My name is John, I live in Arkansas with my wife and two daughters, and I am a disabled veteran, 100% permanently and totally disabled in the line of duty due to a coup-contra-coup brain injury with secondary Complex Partial Seizure disorder with Temporal Lobe foci. I also suffer from severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I have chosen to make my home in the backwoods of Arkansas’s Ouachita Mountains because I have wished to be out of the way of the world since having been medically retired from the military.

    It has been a long time since I set my hand to compose a missive to another person, it’s something that I am normally a bit reluctant to undertake these days, but in this case it is a pleasure to sit and write to you. It has come to my attention that the Good People Fund has been a benefactor to me, my wife, and my children of late, in many wonderful ways…

    To be perfectly frank Ms. Eisenberger, I had been feeling a bit less than charitable toward my fellow man for some time with the adversities that my wife, children and I have faced, and with reading the news, seeing the wars and unrest throughout the world, and observing mankind’s uncharitable behavior toward one another, and I had begun to wonder if all the people of goodwill had vacated the planet.

    I now know, thanks to you and the Good People Fund that they have not. And besides the many wonderful gifts that I have received at your hand, and the help that you have rendered to me and the ones I love, you have given me the gift of seeing the world as a friendly place once again, in spite of its troubles, and that may well be the greatest gift of all. I have not felt that way since I was a child. Thank you. You and the Good People Fund have restored my hope in the face of the adversities that we have endured as a family and the troubles that I see in the world around me.

    My hope for the future is that God will allow me the opportunity to follow your example, and to be of help to others in some way before my time in this world is finished. Should the opportunity arise, it is my greatest wish that I be able to do some good…

    …thank you so much for your amazing kindness, and thank you for doing so much good in this world.

    Yours Truly,

    John Smith,

    * a pseudonym

    Filed under: Good News Update

    A Challenge for Good

    January 14, 2011

    With his behavior spiraling downward, school officials had no choice but to remove Michael* from his class. It was clear that he was no longer taking the medications he needed that allowed him to remain in school. What had suddenly happened? Quite simply his parents’ financial situation had changed and they could not afford to fill the prescriptions. Though they had applied to the state for their son’s health insurance, the application had not yet been approved. The school nurse even intervened and called the state to expedite the family’s application – she was unsuccessful.

    Not willing to give up, the nurse called our friends at Down the Block and in record time the medications were purchased and Michael returned to school the next day.

    Wendi Weill began Down the Block just as the economy turned a few years ago. It was her response to stories she was hearing about her neighbors who had come on hard times and found that there was no other local agency that existed for just this type of short-term, emergency situation.

    As the end-of-year donation season began the Good People Fund offered Down the Block a challenge – we would match any amount they received from new donors up to $4000. Wendi was thrilled to have this opportunity to attract new support for her work and within one month had met our goal.

    Now Michael and other neighbors, just down the block, will have a new chance to overcome an emergency situation that could quickly spiral into something much worse.

    *a pseudonym

    Filed under: Good News Update

    As Simple as Sox and Underwear

    January 13, 2011

    The Rabbanit Kapach has been helping people in Jerusalem for decades; indeed as she herself approaches her ninth decade, her actual work began when she was just a child. Her life is dedicated to mitzvahs and tzedakah – a summer camp for city kids who would otherwise have little distraction from the long hot summer days on Jerusalem’s streets; Passover food for thousands of poor people; daily knocks at her door by people who just cannot provide sufficient food for themselves and their families.

    The Good People Fund likes to help the Rabbanit in her work and often provides her with those very items she distributes to others in need. When recently in touch, we asked her what she could use most during the winter months. Her quick answer? Underwear and sox!

    So, with the help of others we arranged for the purchase and delivery of a large supply of both. As you can see from this picture, no one could be happier than the Rabbanit. We are sure that those who receive these necessities will be grateful to her (and to our donors who made it all possible.)

    Filed under: Good News Update

    School Books

    January 11, 2011

    No matter where they may live, studying for school does not always come easily for many kids. For students living at the St. Mary Kevin Orphanage in Uganda, studying is doubly hard because so many of them, orphaned through the HIV/AIDS epidemic or civil war, have no parents to guide them nor books of their own. For most of them, sharing textbooks is the norm.

    When we recently spoke with Gloria Baker Feinstein, founder of Change The Truth, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of the 190 children who now call St. Mary Kevin Orphanage Motherhood home, she was about to make her (annual) visit to the school. How could we help? Gloria told us about the shared textbooks and that she hoped to be able to gather the funds needed to purchase a sufficient number of books so that all students would have their own and be able to study independently whenever they wanted.

    With the Good People Fund’s donation of a little more than $2000, Change the Truth has established a library of academic textbooks for the primary school-aged children. Now, whenever a child needs a textbook they need only go to the library, check out the book, and study hard.

    Gloria tells us that the books should last for four years…a great return on our tzedakah investment!

    Filed under: Good News Update

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