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Good News Update

The Unspeakable

Imagine being poor; imagine being poor and enduring the death of a newborn baby. How do you not only overcome that loss but also provide a proper burial for your child when funds are in such short supply?

Jeannie Jaybush, the founder of Seattle Baby Bank has been caring for the city’s most vulnerable new babies for decades. Typically she provides all of the “fun stuff” we think about when discussing baby needs–diapers, bottles, onesies, a Teddy Bear, a car seat. But–sometimes she learns of cases like this, situations where a baby has died and the family does not have the means to provide a proper resting place. When she learned that the other children in the family were willing to forego Christmas gifts in order to have enough money to give their baby sister a proper resting place but had come up short, she reached out to us. Could we help?

As Jeannie wrote: Losing the baby was bad enough, but the added stress of the unmarked grave is unacceptably brutal. There have been far too many unmarked graves in this world. It has to stop somewhere—and if it has to start someplace I guess it’ll be here. We can’t treat people this way.

Indeed, Jeannie, we cannot treat people this way and for that reason, with the help of our donors, the Good People Fund sent Jeannie a check for $709.48; just the amount needed to provide a proper gravestone for this little girl who never had a chance to grow up.

Joy, Indeed…

There are times that a short video clip can best describe the essence of a program far better than all of the words we might write. That is the case with this piece we just received from Gloria Baker Feinstein, founder of Change the Truth. The lives of children living at St. Mary Kevin’s orphanage in Uganda were irrevocably changed when Gloria visited years ago. As she writes, there is an abundance of poverty, loss, and sorrow, but with the help of CTT kids now receive love, an education and most of all, hope for the future.

Watch it; in 90 seconds or sooner you will be smiling.

Change the Truth

The Man With the Big Heart


GideonHaitiWe know from the several years that we have worked with him that Gideon Ben-Ami, our grantee in Israel, not only loves to feed hungry people but is always on the lookout for simple but meaningful acts of kindness that will change things for the better. This morning when alerted to the situation, he was introduced to the two young mothers and their toddlers pictured here. The four were flown to Israel from Haiti for urgent and advanced heart surgery required for genetic heart problems that would have resulted in death if not repaired. While doctors and the hospital all donated their services and housing and travel costs were covered, the families had very few resources to cover other needs before they return to Haiti on December 25. Enter Gideon! When alerted to the situation he shopped for basic food and added some items he had in stock making them more comfortable in their unfamiliar surroundings.

To top it off, when he learned that their dream was to see Jerusalem before they departed, he arranged a sherut (taxi) to send them there for a visit.
As Gideon wrote, “It’s a joy to make their dream come true. A great miracle in having their kids operated here. Here is the beautiful Israel.” We agree and are happy that our funds proved that “small actions, have huge impacts.”

She’s Not 12 Anymore…

ahp 2015 10 We love to hear from Amy (Sacks) Zeide, particularly after her famous Amy’s Holiday Party is over. This extraordinary Atlanta event (now in its 21st year–Amy was 12 when she started this in response to the theft of holiday toys from a local shelter– and part of Amy’s organization, Creating Connected Communities) brings together hundreds of local kids for a day of games, dancing, food and gifts to celebrate the holiday season. Coordinating the entire day are teen volunteers. Amy wrote today: “I want to thank you and The Good People Fund for everything you did to help us provide for so many children in need and offer so many meaningful teen volunteer opportunities… With your support, we were able to rent a larger tent to expand our party space.  This will be the last year at this facility but the tent was a tremendous help to keep everything running smoothly.  We also hired a 4th bus to transport more volunteers…In 2016 we have plans to put a 5th program on our calendar and develop our leadership training curriculum to include more Jewish teens”

We are excited about helping Amy. She is exactly what the Good People Fund is all about.

Now check out the great gifts the kids received!  ahp 2015 12

Readin’, Writin’ and ‘rithmetic

#3“Quadratic Expression & Equations”,” Verb Tenses, Direct/Indirect Speech, Letter Writing, Poetry Composition”,” Photosynthesis in Plants, Nutrition in Plants & Animals, Circulatory System”—all subjects we would expect to be taught in high schools around the country. In this context they are actually part of the course syllabus for senior students at Saint Mary Kevin Children’s Home in Uganda and part of a report sent to us this week by Gloria Baker Feinstein, founder of Change the Truth (CTT).

It was Gloria’s trip to Uganda in 2006 that introduced her to this group of children, many of whom were orphaned due to the AIDS outbreak in Africa. Vowing to “change the truth” for these young people, Gloria began CTT which provides funding for food, shelter, clothing, medical needs, education, and more.

The Good People Fund’s grant has made it possible for the senior students to receive intensive tutoring and enrichment classes during holiday periods. Gloria’s recent detailed report has proven to us once again the impact of our funds. We could not be happier knowing that these young people, who had little chance of a bright future, may now go on to college and become self-sufficient, productive members of society.