In the midst of war, when uncertainty fills the air and sirens interrupt the rhythm of daily life, Rachel Kolette Wheeler and Shoshi Margolin, founders of Collective Lavo B’Tov are busy doing what they do every day: helping people with disabilities build lives full of meaning, dignity, and possibility.

Recently, that meant helping Michael and Ahinoam get married.

With Rachel and Shoshi’s steady guidance and unwavering support, this beautiful couple was able to move forward with their wedding despite the chaos surrounding them. A simple dining hall was found and lovingly transformed into a place of warmth and celebration. Family and friends traveled from across Israel to share in their joy. And in that room, for that moment, there was no war. There was only love.

This is what Collective Lavo B’Tov makes possible every single day. Through their work, people with disabilities find their way to fulfilling relationships, meaningful employment, independent living, and vibrant community connection. Rachel and Shoshi believe, with every fiber of who they are, that disability is never a barrier to a full and beautiful life.

We are deeply honored to partner with them, and endlessly inspired by the world they are helping to create, one person, one milestone, one wedding at a time.

In March, GPF Board Chair Beth Gansky opened her home for a beautiful gathering alongside board member Jody Harburger and Julie Fisher. Together, they introduced the community to the tzedakah work of the Good People Fund in an evening that was warm and engaging.

Guests asked thoughtful questions and were moved by the stories we shared of the remarkable people the Good People Fund is proud to support. Our deep gratitude to Beth for a lovely evening.

Many of our grantees are sharing on-the-ground updates from Israel during these challenging times. Here is an update from our grantee Ma’atzimot, Empowering Ethiopian Women:

Surely there is something symbolic about the fact that I am writing my final message as The Good People Fund’s Executive Director in the midst of our 18th year celebration! What a ride it has been. I feel deeply grateful to have had the zechut, the honor, to act as your Shlicha Mitzvah — your messenger of acts of kindness. And I am tremendously excited to pass the baton to Julie Fisher, who will assume the role of Executive Director on July 1st. I have every confidence that Julie will carry out our mission with love, clarity, and deep compassion. In the 2+ years that she has been by my side, she has already created many new programs to benefit our grantees as well as strengthen our internal structures. I know that in Julie’s hands, The Good People fund will continue to grow, thrive, and catalyze more good.

When I think  back to 2008, the year this adventure began, I remain grateful to The Good People Fund’s founding board for sharing my vision and bringing it to fruition by adding their talents and generosity. I am also indebted to our current board, whose foresight and commitment has made it possible for the work to continue. Together, we have all built something truly unique in the Jewish philanthropic world. We have invested in so many extraordinary people in exciting and impactful ways, almost too numerous to mention … helping feed those who are hungry, welcoming the stranger to a new country, empowering women too often left behind, or combating hatred and bigotry in Israel and in the US.

Thanks to your generosity, we have sparked hope and goodness in a world that is often consumed by despair. This work has given me the oxygen to breathe each day, and is an antidote to the depletion many of us are feeling at this moment.

No organization can succeed without a staff that is also deeply committed to its mission and while the The Good People Fund’s staff is small, it is also mighty — and more than a little fun! From Jordan Namerow and Randi Cairns (the first former grantee who fulfilled a lifelong dream to work for The Good People Fund), to Sandy Ungar, Sondra Kasdon and though no longer here, Glenn Rosenkrantz, z”l, our former Communications Consultant who died tragically last December — thank you for the many talents you have brought to our work. And, finally, to Andrea Good our Director of Operations whose title barely describes her many talents and her deep commitment — thank you for embracing the true meaning of this special work.

For me, the new titles of Executive Director Emerita and Master Mentor mean that I will continue to be part of the family that I helped create, and do one of the things that I most enjoy — mentoring our grantees as they build their programs.

The greatest joy of my life, aside from my beautiful family, has been the chance to meet both our inspiring grantees and the generous people who believe in a modest experiment and helped transform it into a meaningful force in Jewish philanthropy today.

I am deeply grateful to all of you for joining me on this remarkable journey. Together, we have touched and changed countless lives — and we have much more work to do together! I will always treasure the role each of you plays in The Good People fund, and look forward to championing the next chapter.

Naomi

April 2026

As Passover approaches, my mind fills with images of my three daughters gathered around the Seder table, legs wiggling, toy frogs flying, stories of heroism and freedom coming alive before their eyes. And then, as they grew older, those same stories cracked open something deeper: the Jewish and universal call to ask hard questions, wrestle with what it means to truly be free, and strengthen your obligations to others.

Freedom From. Freedom To.

This year, these questions feel anything but abstract. We are living in a time of heaviness and uncertainty. The weight of the world’s pain is both persistent and deeply personal.

What are we seeking freedom from? What does our freedom empower us to move toward?

During this season of freedom, I think of our Good People, our social visionaries who choose, again and again, to transform pain into purpose. Drawing often from their own lived experiences of hardship and injustice, they have made the courageous decision to not turn away from today’s challenges, but to turn toward building, healing, and repairing what is broken.

This is a different kind of freedom. Not the absence of burden, but the presence of possibility.

Recently, I had the privilege of speaking with Evie Litwok, founder of Witness to Mass Incarceration, on our Good People Talk! podcast. Evie’s story is rooted in her own painful experience with incarceration and her commitment to ensuring others in that system are met with greater dignity and hope. She spoke about refusing to let pain have the final word, instead using what is broken as a bridge to connection, advocacy, and repair.

Speaking with her, I was struck by how her work, and her incredible spirit (she’s got chutzpah!), echoes the deeper message of Passover.

Freedom is not just about what we leave behind. It is about what we carry forward, from silence to voice, from invisibility to dignity, from systems that dehumanize to communities that heal.

As we gather around our Seder tables this year, telling the story of our people’s journey from narrowness to possibility, I am holding our Good People especially close, thinking of the courage it takes to carry both grief and hope, and the many quiet, powerful ways our Good People help others.

Thank you for being a part of the Good People Fund family. Thank you for standing alongside those doing the work of healing and repair, and for recognizing that freedom is not only something we inherit, but something we help create for others.

On behalf of the Good People Fund staff and board, I wish you and your loved ones a Passover filled with meaning, reflection, and the possibility of new beginnings.

Julie