I don’t know about all of you, but the idea of having a robot around right now to help clean the oven or polish the silver is a welcome thought.

Several months ago we were introduced to Eli Barak, an Israeli who advises (as a volunteer) an award-winning regional robotics team comprised of students from three high schools. This team, like dozens of others in Israel and around the US and Canada compete in an annual robot-building contest where finalists are sent to a competition in St. Louis, meeting participants from 60 regions.

Eli’s team has always had great success in these competitions and this year decided that the team would mentor two other teams, one from Shapira High School in Netanya where 75% of the population is Ethopian Israeli. Despite having a fairly good science program, the high school is unable to provide the funding for the robotics competition and parents, most of whom live in extraordinary poverty cannot help.

For a program that fosters mentoring, physics, mechanics, electronics, strategy, R&D management, cooperation and more the Good People Fund felt that partnering with some Israeli resources to make this program possible was a great tzedakah investment.

Now…if we could just get that robot here…

Dear Naomi,

We are writing this letter on behalf of the participants of the debate
club that your foundation sponsored.

It has been a year since we started to pursue this wish of learning
the wisdom and the tools of debate. Because of your generosity, we
finally got the chance to do so.

At this time we have passed over 15 meetings, and in each session we
challenged ourselves to meet new demands. We believe that the tools
acquired in this course will help us to achieve whatever goals we’ll
set our mind to do and help others. From this point forward our
primary task is to deliver this great wisdom to our brothers and
sisters in the community. In fact, we have just received another grant
that will allow us to offer this course to more participants…

We wish to thank you for your support and trust – we’ll do our best to
live up to the expectations.

Keep shining in the world with your GOOD people.

Sincerely yours,

The debate club

Matan Zara

Golan Jamber

It was just one year ago while visiting Israel that we had the chance to meet Golan Jamber and Matan Zera, two  Ethiopian army officers who represent the very best of  new young leadership – 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 wanted to change that perception and when we met shared their vision of offering the 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.

Judging by this letter it seems that our belief in these two young men has proven correct. The debate course has produced a group of more effective leaders and perhaps even more important has been recognized by other funders who want to see the program grow.

Thank you Golan and Matan for your creative leadership and for giving the Good People Fund this special tzedakah opportunity.

“Hi,
Just to let you know INTRA staff and friends are all going to Vicky and Zachi’s wedding tonight.
We feel we have a vested interest on both sides.
Love Anita =”

It was over two years ago that we shared the story of Zach, an Israeli veteran who returned from the war in Lebanon with severe PTSD. For years Zach was tormented by the war’s trauma. His brain was always running; medications left him disoriented and some medical treatments actually put him in an even worse state. When he came to the Israel National Therapeutic Riding Association at the end of 2010, the only way Anita (Shkedi) could get him up on a horse was to surround him with music blaring from the arena’s loudspeakers. With the help of some of the Good People Fund’s donors,  Zach was able to heal as he participated in therapeutic riding sessions specifically designed to address PTSD and traumatic brain injury.

Anita has kept us up to date on Zach’s progress and some time ago proudly announced that Zach and the riding instructor had become more than  “friends”.
Well, it seems that tonight that these two friends, at first joined together by a tragedy, have become something more as Zach and Vicky, his instructor, have married.

A great ending we’d say.

We are so grateful to Beth Toni Kruvant, an award-winning documentarian, who shot this short film for us while visiting Israel last Spring. Beth was taken with the story of the African refugees who have sought safety in Israel and during her visit was able to learn from both Gideon Ben-Ami who manages our breakfast in Levinsky Park and Yohannes Bayu, founder of the African Refugee Development Center, one of the Good People Fund’s grantees. Though the breakfast has recently stopped as Tel Aviv’s weather has improved and there is less demand, our friend Gideon continues to make his rounds to local food establishments every week. We were able to join him on our recent trip to Israel and were truly overwhelmed by the quantity and quality of what Gideon is able to retrieve. So many people who would otherwise go hungry can enjoy some nourishment because Gideon is so committed to this project.

Here is the link to the video which is also currently appearing on our homepage.

The Good People Fund's Food Recovery Program in Tel Aviv

We know that all of the Good People we work with are extraordinary and many have been honored for their selfless work.
What a great feeling it was to get an email a few minutes ago announcing that Adam Burke, founder of Veterans Farm in Jacksonville, Florida and one of our grantees, will meet with President Obama on Friday to receive the Citizen’s Medal which recognizes American citizens who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.

Adam, in the red shirt pictured above, returned from several tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq with PTSD and traumatic brain injury. Recalling the peace he experienced while working the land years before, he started Veterans Farm which provides returning disabled veterans with the opportunity to learn farming, work the land, and heal from the trauma they experienced while serving their country.

The Good People Fund is proud of Adam and agrees with the President’s choice to honor him with this award, the nation’s second-highest civilian honor.

There was very little that Hurricane Sandy left untouched in its wake last October. We knew that months after the storm’s passing we would have more needs to try to cover than we could possibly handle ourselves. One of the more compelling requests came from a tiny community-organized Pre-K in Broad Channel, Queens. Ali Kase, our contact there, comes from a third-generation family and her knowledge of the community’s needs have been so important to our work.

When we learned of the Broad Channel Pre-K’s loss of all equipment we knew that this parent-led venture could use our help. With no insurance, rebuilding their 30+ years of work would not be easy.
With the help of our Good People Fund donors we were able to arrange for the delivery of a full set of table and chairs, each in a bright primary color.

Today the kids are back in school and from the looks of the pictures we were sent, are more than happy with their new seating arrangements.