We’re excited to announce that Charity Navigator, the country’s foremost independent watchdog that evaluates nonprofits has recently awarded us their highest rating,  Four Stars. Since our inception eight years ago our board has made a conscious decision to operate with full transparency, fiscal prudence including responsible overhead and ethical practices. It is nice to be recognized in this way and we are grateful to all of you, our donors, who help make our work possible.

In our house these days, big bowls of juicy red cherries are quickly disappearing as the season’s bountiful crop has made its way to supermarkets. For the cute little girl pictured here, there’s no need to go to the market. She and her family were fortunate to be part of our grantee, Salem (Oregon) Harvest‘s orchard picking yesterday. The orchard included a beautiful pond filled with fish and bullfrogs and offered a bucolic setting for 30 volunteer families to pick the harvest donated by the orchard owner. In return for their hard work  families were permitted to keep a portion of their pick while the remaining bounty was passed along to local social service agencies so that people who struggle to put even the most basic food on their tables can partake of this luscious summer fruit.

The Good People Fund’s support of Salem Harvest has allowed this formerly all-volunteer effort to hire its first Executive Director, Elise Bauman, whose hard work has increased the group’s output exponentially.

Some of us remember Ricky Nelson’s popular tune, Garden Party, recorded back in 1972. A different garden party took place last evening at the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens.  We wish we could have been there.

This “garden party” was hosted by our grantee, Kaima, the unique organic sustainable farm that works with young people who have not succeeded in traditional learning environments. Kaima’s latest creation is a hydroponic greenhouse built on the Botanical Garden’s grounds. As Yoni Yefet-Reich, Kaima’s co-founder, explained when we visited the site in February, the “farm” has several significant benefits. It will provide healthy organic produce to residents of the Holy City; offer exciting learning opportunities for the young people in Kaima’s program, and of equal importance, it represents an outstanding example of eco-friendly farming which is crucial in a country like Israel where water is a precious commodity.

Judging by this photo Yoni sent us, it appears that there will be plenty of karpas for the upcoming Seder.

She’s 13 years old and as you can see, she’s a pretty cute kid.

Juliana’s family is from the Philippines but she lives in Jerusalem with her mother who is a foreign worker. They live in a three room apartment shared with two other families. Juliana last saw her father when she was five years old, but two years ago he died in the Philippines.

Today, Juliana’s future doesn’t seem very hopeful. Her family is poor and they have very few rights in their adopted homeland. But, there is one thing that puts a big smile on Juliana’s face and that is her Big Sister who was introduced to her by Big Brothers, Big Sisters in Jerusalem. “Bigs” are dedicated volunteers who have taken a strong interest in helping a child like Juliana and together they explore the world and create meaningful connections.

One of the experiences Juliana was able to share with her “Big” was a rock climbing event where the professional staff noticed Juliana’s extraordinary skill in climbing and extreme sports. They suggested she could excel with some training and guidance.

One problem—the year of training costs almost 3,000 shekels (a little more than $750)—a sum which Juliana’s mom could never afford. When the social worker asked if we could help, we of course said we would try. Can you help us help Juliana to learn to rock climb? Who knows what other mountains she will be able to conquer after a year of training?