Naomi,

Yitz

This past Sunday was the first day of summer vacation in Israel and we were excited to receive this note from Yitz Feigenbaum, one of the forces behind Beit Hayeled, the group home where kids removed from their parents are given a warm, supportive environment in which to grow and thrive.

It was the generosity of Good People Fund donors who made this movie (and the pizza and ice cream that followed) possible. We hope the rest of the summer is just as much fun!

Think about growing old without the company of a television set…or even a decent TV with a good picture and sound. Those long days, often spent in isolation, can be even longer.

When we spoke with Dalia Abbott at Project Ezra on the Lower East Side of Manhattan last week she shared that every other Thursday a small group of their seniors come to the building for a movie. The group decides what they want to see, Netflix sends it on and everyone enjoys the film, some companionship and a drink and light snacks.

Imagine our horror when Dalia shared a picture of the television the group was using. (Unfortunately, her camera phone did not do justice to the actual photo). Despite the color and beautiful music Barbara Streisand was belting out in Hello Dolly, the group was viewing this on a small out-dated TV set. In fact, Dalia admitted that "sadly, some people have chosen not to come to the group because they can’t see the picture."

This was something we could fix and just a few minutes ago, Dalia reported back on her shopping expedition. For a truly reasonable amount of tzedakah money, Project Ezra’s seniors will ease their isolation, share some food and enjoy a good flick on a wide-screen, flat-panel TV that everyone can see.

Who knows? Maybe Movie Day will be held every week. The Good People Fund is thrilled to make this happen…maybe we will even send some popcorn!

On Friday we wrote about the new swimming program The Forgotten People Fund is running for Ethiopian kids in Netanya. We just received this update from Aida, one of the FPF’s founders who has been involved with SWIMSAFE. Clearly the Good People Fund’s decision to underwrite even more swimming lessons was a good one:

I have been having a great time with the 8 youngsters with whom we have begun the project and three are already swimmers and two are almost swimmers. When we began, three were so frightened of the water when we got into the pool and now all 8 are jumping into the water, keeping their heads underwater and, when the hour is over, we can’t get them out of the pool! I have been going into the water to tutor two of the girls who are having trouble getting their feet off the bottom of the pool and I am having a wonderful time seeing the looks on their faces when they get the idea of what it is to swim. I feel confident that at least these 8 kids will be able to SWIMSAFE.

How great it would be if even more kids could learn to swim…

Around here in New Jersey, today is the last day of school and kids are going off to camp or playgrounds for some summer fun. So, it was with particular interest that I read today’s e-newsletter from the Forgotten People Fund. FPF is a group of dedicated volunteers in Netanya who have committed to helping the very large poor Ethiopian population in that city. Knowing that they not only do good work but do it with an overhead of about 2% or less makes this a sound tzedakah investment for us.

Today’s newsletter announced a special program called SWIMSAFE which offers swimming lessons to children whose parents cannot afford to provide them. The kids receive 8 lessons, learn the safety rules and are considered beginners when they complete the professionally-run course.

The inspiration behind SWIMSAFE was the accidental drowning last summer of Avraham, a local youngster who visited one of Netanya’s beautiful beaches and drowned. FPF volunteers felt that the best way to make sure that never happened again was to start SWIMSAFE and when they recently met Avraham’s father they told him that it was his loss that inspired them to start the program. He thanked them "profusely and said he hoped that no other parent would suffer what he and his family have been through".

So – to celebrate the start of summer fun the Good People Fund is sending a check to cover 10 more kids who can learn to SWIMSAFE!

Just two days ago we were delighted to receive tzedakah from students at Temple Beth El in Tacoma. Included in their extensive list of designees were the "Quincy Kids" in Massachusetts who have worked for years to end child slavery throughout the world. This group of middle-school students is driven to help kids around the world with their passion, vision and energy. We love to help them.

Within minutes of getting the donation we sent an email to Ron Adams, their dedicated teacher-advisor and asked him for a quick list of the kids’ immediate needs for their campaign. Ron responded at once and yesterday we went online to order everything they needed (including lots of stamps which have not yet arrived). Today, not even 48 hours later, we received the following email:

Hi Naomi,

Ron Adams on behalf of The Quincy Kids
Broad Meadows Middle School
Quincy, MA

It was our pleasure to act on behalf of the Beth El students and the Quincy activists. In fact, right before this all happened we received the above photo which shows Quincy students wearing their new t-shirts. The shirts are the one piece of recognition the kids get for all of the hard work they put in during the year. The shirt is emblazoned with the flag of Nepal, where this year’s fundraising will provide for the education and protection of poor children in the rug making region of that country. Way to go Quincy and Beth El!

From time to time we have written here about Zeev Birger who, with his late wife, Trude (z’l), helped so many poor families in Jerusalem. Trude’s work (and then Zeev’s) goes back to the days of Teddy Kollek, Jerusalem’s colorful mayor. Teddy knew of Trude’s amazing energy and spirit and asked if she and some friends might want to help very poor families living in the city’s Romema neighborhood. With the same can-do attitude that Trude always showed, soon families were helped with all kinds of needs…food, clothing, funds to pay for the heat in the winter. But, in truth the very best gifts Trude and Zeev gave to those families were the times they spent talking to them, and the funds they contributed to underwrite higher education for their children. Dozens and dozens of kids broke through the poverty that encompassed their families and many became professionals, tradesmen…supporting themselves and their families.

With Trude’s death several years ago, Zeev continued the work. It was not easy. In recent years he would share how hard it was to raise the funds but he knew he must because that was what Trude would have wanted.

A few hours ago, an email arrived announcing Zeev’s death from a tragic traffic accident. The only person in his family to survive the camps, Zeev was hit by a motorcycle and died from his injuries. Trude and Zeev’s legacy is huge…so many lives changed for the better because two people turned their own personal tragedies into goodness and justice.

May Zeev’s memory be for a blessing. He will be missed.