No matter how long I have known about their work and shared their story with our readers, nothing quite prepared me for the time I spent this past week with the Bagel Brigade volunteers in Los Angeles. Started by the late Herman Berman, Brigade volunteers scour local supermarkets and bakeries each day collecting day old breads and pastries which are in turn quickly retrieved by dozens of local social service agencies and schools and distributed to hungry people throughout the area.

My first morning in LA found us at the Van Nuys COSTCO parking lot at 7am. (To say that only the birds would be in the lot that early would not be an understatement…they were there, too.) Within fifteen minutes three volunteers drove up, popped their trunks and quickly filled cart after cart with bags of bagels, croissants, pastries, artisan breads…even a sheet cake decorated with roses and waiting for a birthday message. No sooner did those volunteers (retirees and students) pull away than three more vehicles appeared, each from a separate agency, to retrieve the food. As we spoke to the agency representatives we quickly learned that the Brigade’s work was critical to their own and without this product they would have a difficult time providing food for their clients.

Knowing that this scenario is played out seven days a week and that there are more than 1.7 million hungry people in LA with 6.5 million being "hunger insecure", only reinforces the importance of this small and efficient program run entirely by volunteers.

We hope that the Good People Fund’s matching grant will bring them even more funds to continue their work.

After almost twenty years of searching for the most amazing good people who are working to better our world you get a sixth sense when you find one that you just know will soar given the right nurturing and attention.

That was the case when we met Gary Oppenheimer, founder of AmpleHarvest.org. Gary’s efforts to end hunger in this country starts with registering all of the country’s food pantries and soup kitchens in his online database. To date, more than 4700 (a third) such agencies have signed on as the numbers change daily.

In just a few years AmpleHarvest.org has gained national attention, despite its incredibly low operating costs and minimal staff. So, it was no surprise to us when Gary sent us an email yesterday with the above photo attached.

We hope Gary enjoys his White House visit and thank him for proving us right!

For many of us, nothing in the news has been more disturbing than the scandal coming out of Penn State. Our friend, Rabbi Adam Feldman of the Princeton (NJ)Jewish Center, spoke of that tragedy a few weeks ago during his Shabbat sermon. Rabbi Feldman reminded his congregation of "how people in authority need to be responsible for their actions especially when they have the lives of young people in their hands."

Sitting in the pews that morning was Gil Gordon, a congregant who accompanied Rabbi Feldman and others on an Israel trip a few years ago. For that trip we arranged a meeting with Yitz Feigenbaum who co-runs Beit Hayeled, the group home that provides safe haven and love for kids removed from abusive homes by the court system. The Princeton community has interacted with Beit Hayeled on other occasions but Gil felt that one very powerful antidote to the tragedy of Penn State would be to tell the entire congregation about Beit Hayeled’s beautiful work with abused kids and request donations for Hanukkah gifts for the kids.

This morning we heard from Rabbi Feldman who shared this story as well as the good news that his congregants had contributed more than $3500 to the effort. As he wrote, "With Chanukah approaching, we have an excellent opportunity to make life a bit brighter for these fragile children whose lives are being put back in order at Bet HaYeled."

We could not agree more! Yasher koach to everyone at Princeton Jewish Center. The Good People Fund is pleased to act as the shaliach in this very special tzedakah mission.

Another morning, another phone call…

The military advocate who called this morning was at first hesitant as she shared her story. Perhaps she doubted that we would be able to help, despite a mutual contact who urged her to call…The story she shared was of a retired decorated soldier who sustained serious injuries in Iraq when a grenade bounced off his tank and fell into the turret, killing one soldier and wounding him and two others. After extensive treatment for his injuries which included traumatic brain injury and PTSD, our soldier opted to leave the military and embark upon a civilian life. By all accounts, things were reasonably stable, despite the long-standing effects of his injuries…until now. Recently his personal life began to fall apart (not an unusual result of such serious war injuries) and our contact reported that this retired soldier had no heat in his home. With an outstanding balance owed the fuel company and limited funds it looked as if he would spend the snowy Western winter without heat. When we called the fuel company they promised that if the new delivery was paid for, they would deliver today to insure a warm Thanksgiving holiday for the family. Thanks to our generous donors the Good People Fund was able to cover the cost of a new tank of propane which should provide four months of heat for this dedicated veteran.

It’s those early morning calls that really inspire us and make us work even harder on behalf of our many good people, quietly going about their business changing lives for the better.

This morning’s call came from Ranya Kelly, founder of the Redistribution Center in Colorado. Ranya’s organization has rescued, since its founding, over 700,000 pairs of new shoes and millions of dollars worth of brand new, perfectly usable clothing, bedding, food, building supplies and more from local and national retail outlets. What was destined for a landfill is now filling the needs of impoverished people not only in the Denver area but also other parts of the United States.

Ranya wanted to check in before Thanksgiving to say thank you for what we do for her and her work. She casually mentioned that yesterday she got a call from a local meat purveyor that was going out of business. If she could get to them, she was welcome to 7 pallets of fresh meat…steaks, roasts–all normally sold to the finest restaurants.

Needless to say, Ranya rented a truck, picked up the meat and delivered it to local agencies that distribute food to hungry people. Ranya says that fresh meat is as difficult to come by as fresh produce–a welcome gift.

Last month we shared the story of Eli* and Isaac*, one of the "pairs" arranged by Big Brothers, Big Sisters Israel. Isaac is a young Ethiopian boy being raised by a single Mom. Despite many learning difficulties he is smart, positive and charismatic. When tested, it was apparent that dyslexia was causing his school difficulties. With Eli’s (his big brother) support and regular tutoring everyone hoped that Isaac would overcome the disability and succeed in school.

When the Good People Fund committed to funding a tutor we too hoped that changes would come. We never expected the great news we received this morning when Eli wrote to give us an update…

I’m glad to inform you that Isaac started the year with great progress, and his school is starting a process of fully integrating him in a regular class. I can tell you, that just two years ago in his previous school his teacher told me she doesn’t believe this will ever happen, but apparently, the teachers he has now believe a regular class is the place for him to be. I understand that a few of his teachers actually wondered what exactly is he doing in a "special needs class", and so it seems that the time has come for Isaac’s integration.

I have always believed Isaac should be in a regular class, but I have no doubt that your support had a lot to do with Isaac’s improvement and the school’s decision. Eli

Saving lives, one at a time…it’s what we do best.

*pseudonyms