The Good People Fund
For homeless kids on the streets of Detroit, Courtney Smith’s Detroit Phoenix Center is a warm, welcoming shelter where youth can shower, study and get some nourishment. Our recent grant helped to fill the center’s pantry with non-perishable food items and provided gift cards from McDonalds and Target to cover other critical needs.
From time to time our contacts at NOLA Children’s Hospital call upon us for a very special need and Kyle’s case was one. Five-year-old Kyle had spent over a year in the hospital while doctors tried unsuccessfully to cure his leukemia. His mom, a single parent, was with him every step of the way and unable to work while Kyle was in treatment. With limited funds available a proper burial was not possible. It was an honor for The Good People Fund to help make that possible for both Kyle and his Mom.
In our severely challenged world — as we look to define and grasp hope — Rabbi Debra Orenstein sat with Good People Fund Director of Engagement Julie Fisher to talk about her own journey to hope … the value of hope to our mental and physical well beings … practical tips for all of us to embrace and elevate hope … and much more.
Rabbi Debra is spiritual leader at Congregation B’nai Israel in Emerson, NJ, and a nationally known Jewish educator and commentator on the theory and practice of hope, and the Jewish wisdom surrounding it. She recently taught a six-part online workshop, “Real Hope” — the inaugural series in GPF’s Good People Learn program.
“Real Hope” Session 5 — “Meeting Hope Heroes”
More about Rabbi Debra Orenstein
Amy Ever, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, is the Founder and CEO of A Courageous Voice — educating and equipping children, parents, teachers and community leaders with the knowledge and tools to end the scourge of child abuse, neglect and exploitation rooted in both on- and offline spaces. Amy talks about her journey from trauma to impact with GPF Executive Director Naomi Eisenberger.
Three of our visionary grantees in Israel vividly describe how they’re meeting new challenges since the terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, and staying true to their passions and missions elevating good and hope — and uplifting the communities they serve with renewed resolve.
While in Israel in March, GPF Executive Director Naomi Eisenberger and GPF Director of Engagement Julie Fisher sat with Avraham Hayon of S.A.H.I., Yael Noy of Road to Recovery, and Shlomit Somech-Lehmann of Al-Baqour for a live Zoom event (link below), here presented in audio-only podcast format.
Live from Israel Zoom Recording:
Listen below or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
We’re at our 50th episode of Good People Talk! Marking this milestone moment, we’ve handed the microphone over to special guest host — Jodi Rudoren, Editor-in-Chief of the Forward and former Jerusalem Bureau Chief of The New York Times — as she discovers The Good People Fund’s secret sauce for building and sustaining a community of Good People creating positive change in a challenged and conflicted world. Jodi sits with GPF Co-Founder and Executive Director Naomi Eisenberger, and GPF Director of Engagement Julie Fisher.
More About Guest Host Jodi Rudoren: https://forward.com/authors/
Listen below or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
