His name is Isaac* and now, twelve years old, he is first beginning to "blossom". Isaac is an Israeli-born Ethiopian whose mother traveled through the deserts of Sudan to eventually reach Israel. It was after she arrived that Isaac was born and his parents divorced.

We learned about Isaac from Libby Reichman of Big Brothers, Big Sisters in Israel. Libby is always a great resource for us when we want to use some of the tzedakah our donors send to us to help a child get ahead. Libby shared that Isaac’s mom is loving and supportive but the family has few resources and Isaac has no man in his life to help guide him. In school he was doing poorly because of a serious reading problem which had not yet been identified.

When Libby found a young man who wanted to become Isaac’s "big brother" things began to change for him. While Eli*, his "big" offered Isaac many fun activities like swimming and movies, he also recognized that Isaac was smart, positive and charismatic but needed much direction if he was to succeed in life. Eli and Libby worked together on getting Isaac tested and discovered that he had a serious learning disability (dyslexia) which was hampering his school success. Once the problem was identified Eli arranged for a friend to begin tutoring him. Eli and Isaac also built a desk so that Isaac could study in a proper place and soon a computer was located to further help his academic progress.

When we learned about Isaac and his tutoring needs we thought that this could be a tremendous tzedakah investment that would pay great dividends. So, in addition to Isaac’s apparent skills in hip-hop dance, he is also becoming a great student with the tutoring that the Good People Fund and their amazing partners-in-tzedakah at Wilshire Boulevard Temple Religious School are now underwriting.

*a pseudonym