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You are here: Home / Executive Director Message / Saying Yes to Goodness: Thanksgiving Reflections

Saying Yes to Goodness: Thanksgiving Reflections

December 2025

Recently, I had lunch with a friend. Over sandwiches and conversation, she shared something that has been weighing on her heart: a worry that there are fewer good people in the world today. She wondered whether I too felt that concern.

I told her without a moment of hesitation that every day, in large ways and small, I have the privilege of seeing so many good people. People who care deeply. People who want to help, to heal, to offer dignity and compassion. People exploring how to put their goodness into action. People whose generosity puts more good into the world. All are good at heart, often waiting for an invitation or a way to add more good.

Her question stayed with me over the past two weeks as I met ten of our Good People Fund grantees in person, a rare treat. And in each visit, I saw the same truth: good people are everywhere.

Their work takes many forms.

Good people are feeding hungry families at the Food Project, making sure every meal is offered with dignity.

Good people are welcoming newcomers at Refugee Assistance Alliance, giving them safety, community, and a sense of belonging.

Good people are rebuilding lives at MyChild’sCancer, walking beside those at life’s most challenging time.   

Good people are building bridges of understanding through projects like Rekindle, where conversations once thought impossible are now shaping a more hopeful future.

Good people are restoring purpose and meaning for underserved youth at Kaima Farms, offering a new path of belonging. 

These moments, such as watching a warm meal handed to someone who has not eaten that day, hearing a young adult describe newfound confidence, or seeing people from different worlds listen to one another with respect, are reminders that goodness is not scarce. It is abundant. It is everywhere. And it grows when someone extends an invitation.

That is the thread that ties our work together: when we say yes to goodness, it ripples outward.

Our work is sustained because of the good people who choose to make it possible. Your partnership, your generosity, your belief in our mission, and your trust in The Good People Fund nurture the extraordinary social visionaries we support. You help restore dignity, build community, strengthen lives, and open doors for others to join this circle of good. 

The fact that I get to witness this goodness every day is a profound privilege.

This month on Good People Talk! — our popular monthly podcast — Naomi spotlights the bridge building work of Rabbi Elhanan Miller, Founder of People of the Book, our grantee whose courageous outreach to the Arab world deepens understanding between cultures. His work, and the work of every Good People Fund grantee, is made possible because people like you choose to partner with us in repairing the world.

As we approach Thanksgiving, our hearts are full. We are deeply grateful for your trust, your warmth, your generosity, and your belief that good people working together can change lives.

You are the answer to the question my friend asked. Good people are everywhere. Thank you for being part of a community that continues to say yes to goodness.

Julie

Filed Under: Executive Director Message

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The Good People Fund is all about stories that share the goodness within each of us and the way that goodness can change the world, bit by bit. Read on and find out why we love our work, helping extraordinary people. . . .

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