September 19, 2008

Challenging Kids for Tzedakah

The Seattle Jewish Community School has a rich tradition of teaching tzedakah at all age levels. Our good friend Amee Sherer, a teacher in the school, called us just as school was about to begin and asked if we had connections on the Gulf Coast where hurricanes (or tropical storms) were rolling in on an almost daily basis. The school would like to partner with the Good People Fund in helping those impacted by the storms’ destruction-possibly with a school where a personal connection could be made between the Seattle and Mississippi students. Tzedakah collected during the first month of school would be donated to us to be disbursed as we uncover needs.

We knew that it would not be difficult to find a worthy recipient of the tzedakah…so many schools (and families) were still reeling from Hurricane Katrina of three years ago, let alone from the recent storms.

Wanting to give the kids a little "kick start" to their first collection of the year, we told Amee that we would match whatever the kids raised, up to $250. This was a challenge that no one wanted to turn down! We can’t wait to see what the school collects…we’ll let you know and also share how the funds are to be used.

Kid Power!

September 18, 2008

Sometimes It Really Does Take a Village Part II

On September 8, 2008 (Sometimes It Really Does Take a Village) we shared with you the story of two women in Israel who have taken it upon themselves to enlist their neighbors’ help in providing food and other needs for families in the vicinity who do not have the means to do so themselves.

This morning, at about 6:45am our time, I received an email from one of the women, who shared that they had picked up the holiday food coupons that we had purchased on their behalf (they were thrilled!); but that they were short a few hundred dollars in their wish to provide new shoes for the children in these families. Could we help?

By 7:30am we had exchanged several emails relating to the shoe purchases and by 8:40 we were on the phone with the shoe store in Jerusalem making the financial arrangements to get the shoe purchases completed.

In less than two hours from a distance of about 6000 miles it was all arranged and several children will have new shoes with which to start the New Year!

It doesn’t get much better!

September 16, 2008

Package From Your Home

Barbara Silverman was a wife and mother and grandmother (albeit one with a rich legacy of activism that goes back decades) when terror attacks broke out in Israel in 2000. Frustrated by her strong desire to just do something, she gathered friends and families and started preparing packages that were sent off to soldiers serving on the front-lines. When an email was sent off to some friends and family funds started to arrive and A Package From Home was started. Today, the organziation has sent out more than 140,000 packages and hundreds of Bar and Bat Mitzvah kids have made the program part of their own mitzvah project.

This past summer, A Package From Home was asked about the possibility of providing a weekend away for several soldiers who were seriously wounded during the last war in Lebanon (2006) and were still hospitalized, undergoing difficult and painful treatment. Once a donor was found, Barbara proceeded to make plans and ultimately six soldiers were given permission to leave the hospital. In Barbara’s own words:

… on Thursday evening we arranged a wonderful banquet at one of Jerusalem’s finest meat restaurants. The first of the soldiers to arrive was Amit wearing a brace on his head and upper body. He was accompanied by his father and a young woman aide. As he got to the table I observed his girlfriend putting her hand underneath one of his arms to steady him as he slowly tried to seat himself. He looked up at her with an adoring smile, gently turned her hand over and very tenderly kissed her fingertips. The other soldiers arrived shortly thereafter and a festive meal was had by all. After dessert, each soldier was presented with a special gift of sweets by A Package from Home…and they were taken to the Ramat Rachel Hotel where they were cordially welcomed. The hotel… warmly greeted their guests and graciously supplied a special basket of fresh fruit in each room.

Friday morning after a sumptuous Israeli breakfast, they set out to visit a goat cheese farm at Sataf. Back at the hotel, those who were able took advantage of the swimming pool before they got ready for Shabbat. That evening, they were served a sumptuous meal. Saturday they rested and enjoyed a full board of culinary delights.

Each of the soldiers remarked what a pleasure it was to have a change from the hospital environment and food and expressed their deep gratitude…

Take a look at http://www.apackagefromhome.org/ to learn more about Barbara’s work and perhaps contribute to her efforts. She is doing very special work.

September 14, 2008

Storm Weary…

As we watch the news coming out of Texas today, it is hard to grasp the true extent of the devastation that occurred when Hurricane Ike hit the coast at the start of the weekend. What makes the situation even more tragic is that this particular hurricane came quickly on the heels of two other storms that destroyed homes and killed hundreds in the Caribbean.

Our friend, Ray Buchanan, founder of Stop Hunger Now, an international relief agency, was in touch on Friday and shared word of some of the destruction that had occurred in Haiti when Hurricane Gustave hit the island two weeks ago. Stop Hunger Now is our "go-to" place when we want to send funds to help in the relief effort but have no personal connection on the ground. We trust Ray and his staff and know that any funds we send them will be used quickly and efficiently, which is why we are now responding to his latest email which offered the following:

More than 500 people have been reported dead and more than 650,000 people have been affected in Haiti since the crushing storms Hurricane Gustov, Hurricane Fay and Tropical Storm Hanna. Stop Hunger Now is responding during this vital time of Haiti’s crisis. It is feared more deaths could emerge since aid is trickling slowly into the country. "The toll is increasing hourly," warned United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Hum anitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Stop Hunger Now is working to send four shipments of life saving food and clothing valued at $1 million to provide much needed relief for the victims in Haiti who are facing life threatening situations.

Stop Hunger Now must raise $28,000 to finance the costs of shipping these containers. Although this need is considerable, the need for relief in Haiti is greater.

The Good People Fund has sent some funds to help cover the shipping expenses involved in sending this humanitarian aid to a storm-weary island which could face even more turmoil as the hurricane season continues. (http://www.stophungernow.org/)

September 11, 2008

Growing Old in St. Petersburg

Though Igor Feldblyum moved to the United States from the Former Soviet Union many years ago, he never forgot his roots or the many elderly people living in extraordinary poverty in this city. How could he help them despite the distance that separated him from his ancestry?

Am Echad, the small non-profit started by Igor several years ago was his way of trying to help lonely and often sick elders for whom a small monthly stipend would make a difference. With the help of contacts living in the city, elders are identified and modest sums of money are delivered regularly. For all of them, this small additional income, combined with the fact that there is someone who cares about them, makes life a bit easier.

In addition to the monthly allotments, Igor is often contacted when there is an emergency need (usually medical). When we were in touch with Igor this week he shared the story of L.G., a woman who was one of his first recipients. L.G. has limited mobility due to ongoing medical problems and lives in severe pain nearly all of the time. With the help of a translator, L.G. was able to write to Igor and explain her needs:

Dear Igor,

L. G.

We can’t imagine a better investment of $500 to help L.G regain some relief from the constant pain she lives with and have forwarded a check to Igor to assure her this treatment.

Igor’s efforts prove that small sums of money can change people’s lives for the better and that distance does not necessarily make that impossible. We are proud to be part of this very special work.

September 08, 2008

Sometimes, It Does Take A Village….

Sometimes, it really does take a village to…raise a child, feed a family, put shoes on little feet or buy school supplies for eager students.

We were recently in touch with two people whose actions, we believe, represent the very essence of what the Good People Fund is really all about. They represent a group of neighbors and friends who provide monthly food packages for nine needy families in their Jerusalem neighborhood. All families are vetted by a social worker and all are living in extraordinarily difficult circumstances…a family of 4 children living with their unemployed divorced parent in a 1.5 room apartment; an elderly widow with five adult children, four of whom are handicapped and the fifth now severely handicapped from army service; an Ethiopian family with four children under the age of ten and a parent with a brain tumor…each situation heartbreaking in its own right, one worse than the other.

How does this small group make such a profound difference? They have absolutely no overhead, all purchases, packing and delivery is done by volunteers and all funds collected go to food purchases other than occasionally purchasing gift certificates for a local shoe store when little feet need new shoes for school.

The Good People Fund is providing this group with extra supermarket scrip for upcoming holiday purchases…perhaps the New Year will be better for these nine families. In some way they are blessed to have neighbors who take the mitzvah of lechem l’re’eyvim, feeding hungry people, very seriously.

(See Part II, September 18, 2008)