Life for Cindy* and her three children is not easy. Having lost her husband at a young age, Cindy struggles to make ends meet. Her job at a local market brings in $1200 a month now that she has had her hours cut back for the summer. Hopefully in the next month or so she expects to return to full-time work. To help, her two teenagers also work and pitch in. To gauge how difficult things are and how close to the edge the family lives, Cindy has no credit cards or bank accounts. Her employer will cash her check as long as she spends at least 10% of it in the store.

In the meantime, the family’s stability has been seriously rocked as their rental was recently sold and the family had to move in with friends and place their belongings in storage. With affordable housing in short supply in this Northeast city, the $850 rental they recently found was an unexpected gift.

The problem? In order to rent the family must come up with the first and last month’s rent as well as a security deposit…not so easy when you have no safety net protecting you.

Thanks to our generous donors, the Good People Fund was able to quickly write a check to the landlord and within a few days this family of four will be settled in their new home. Safe for now and with perhaps a better feeling for the upcoming New Year.

* a pseudonym

There is never any shortage of creative ideas to come from Pam Koner, founder of Family to Family. The organization always addresses the problem of domestic hunger in the most direct and creative ways so it was no surprise to learn this morning that their latest project, Pantry Partners has just launched. The Good People Fund has supported Pam’s work for years and we know that if you want to help your local food pantry this is the way to go! Check the following link for details

http://family-to-family.org/hands-on-giving-projects/pantry-partners/

Back on June 14 we shared the story of Avi Ben-Jano who has spent his life in a wheelchair due to Cerebral Palsy. Avi lives in his own apartment at Shalhevet in Jerusalem which allows him independent living and the companionship of other disabled adults living nearby.

Through the encouragement of Miriam Freier, Shalhevet’s dynamic founder, Avi has been able to pursue his passion of film production and has created several films that have been shown locally.

Avi’s latest project is a documentary featuring the moving story of Meir who was paralyzed following an accident. The movie tells Meir’s story and how he and the love of his life, Lee, are raising a family. The film shows that while we may not control what happens in life, we do have the tools to cope with what life brings.

When the Good People Fund was approached about possible funding for the trailer Avi needs to produce so that he could present the film at a prestigious conference on disabilities here in the States, we were happy to provide a modest amount of tzedakah money to make that possible.

This morning we received word that the trailer was completed. Take a look…http://youtu.be/2CrGn4KTMZU. It is certainly a moving story.

Sometimes we are offered an opportunity to step in and help in places where we would never think a need exists. That was the case this past winter during our time in Israel. Despite the hectic nature of these trips one thing is never in short supply-the chance to meet inspiring people.

Golan Jamber and Matan Zere were two of those inspirations. Both young men are Ethiopian army officers and represent the very best – fine character, vision and a strong concern for their fellow Ethiopians as they struggle to succeed in their adopted home.

Israeli Ethiopians, by and large, often fall into the lowest economic strata. As a people, they are seen as quiet and unassuming; many think them weak and limited in ability.

Golan and Matan want to change that perception and when we met they shared their vision of offering the very best Ethiopian IDF officers an opportunity to study the art of debate at a well-known Israeli center. Learning to debate will empower these young people in new ways, tapping into their potential and developing strength and conviction; ultimately, making them even better leaders in their community.

The Good People Fund was asked to help with this goal by covering half the cost of the course…even Golan and Matan recognized the need for participants to make an investment of their own in this venture.

After several months making arrangements, Golan sent this note today. We are proud that the Good People Fund could be part of this effort…

One year after the first meeting of the debate group we are about to set to a new task, this task would not have started without your help.

We promise to make the best of this course and try to lift our community to a new horizon.

How many of us get “carried away” listening to our favorite piece of music? The experience is often transformative—listening to my favorite piece of classical music as I write, I’m filled with joy and a sense of peace.

Back in 2006, social worker Dan Cohen wondered about the power of music and began to ask nursing homes if they used iPods to provide personalized music for residents. To his surprise, not one facility said yes. How was it that this little marvel of technology was not being used to provide nursing home residents with music and its therapeutic benefits? So he set about to change all that.

We recently met Dan and learned about Music and Memory, his organization that brings personalized music via iPods to elderly individuals suffering from dementia, Alzheimer’s and other isolating conditions, living in nursing homes and other settings. The music taps deep memories and enables the listener to reconnect to the world, often with dramatic results. The organization provides training programs for nursing home professionals and others to set up the personalized iPod system and evaluate the program’s effect.

Music and Memory has the potential to truly improve quality of life for so many. If you have any doubts, watch this clip from the documentary about Music and Memory’s work, Alive Inside. Henry will make you a believer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyZQf0p73QM&feature=player_embedded#

The Good People Fund has joined Dan’s revolution. Our grant will help underwrite the development of a new web site to promote Music and Memory’s program and share how each of us, whether caregiver, healthcare professional or even Hebrew school classes or b’nai mitzvah kids looking for a project, can join the revolution.

… My goal is to teach these kids about the social and environmental justice issues surrounding them and to motivate them to become agents of positive change on these issues… Lead Farmer Matt, Amir

David Fox loved summer camp when he was a kid. In fact, that love continued into his teen years when he eventually moved from camper to counselor. In addition to his feelings about camp, David also felt compelled to make the world a better place. It was while he was in college that he realized that there was a way he could combine both of these passions in one dynamic program. That program is Amir, which trains young adults, through the medium of gardening, to teach and inspire campers about ways to build a more just world and to relieve hunger and poverty.

While the program runs primarily in summer camps (there are 11 this summer) it has also been successful in faith communities and inner-city community centers. Anyone who has been to camp knows the power of experiential learning and Amir’s work is just that. The planning, planting and harvesting of a camp garden, under the leadership of the Amir-trained Lead Farmer, exposes campers to environmentalism, sustainable gardening, social justice, and so much more. The Garden to Pantry Initiative connects the camp to local food pantries and when crops are harvested they are turned over to the pantries. (Sometimes even after camp season ends and the harvest continues.)

Meeting David was a special experience. He is thoughtful and deeply committed to this model. The Good People Fund’s challenge grant was just what he needed to build a strong foundation for Amir.