His name is Isaac* and now, twelve years old, he is first beginning to "blossom". Isaac is an Israeli-born Ethiopian whose mother traveled through the deserts of Sudan to eventually reach Israel. It was after she arrived that Isaac was born and his parents divorced.

We learned about Isaac from Libby Reichman of Big Brothers, Big Sisters in Israel. Libby is always a great resource for us when we want to use some of the tzedakah our donors send to us to help a child get ahead. Libby shared that Isaac’s mom is loving and supportive but the family has few resources and Isaac has no man in his life to help guide him. In school he was doing poorly because of a serious reading problem which had not yet been identified.

When Libby found a young man who wanted to become Isaac’s "big brother" things began to change for him. While Eli*, his "big" offered Isaac many fun activities like swimming and movies, he also recognized that Isaac was smart, positive and charismatic but needed much direction if he was to succeed in life. Eli and Libby worked together on getting Isaac tested and discovered that he had a serious learning disability (dyslexia) which was hampering his school success. Once the problem was identified Eli arranged for a friend to begin tutoring him. Eli and Isaac also built a desk so that Isaac could study in a proper place and soon a computer was located to further help his academic progress.

When we learned about Isaac and his tutoring needs we thought that this could be a tremendous tzedakah investment that would pay great dividends. So, in addition to Isaac’s apparent skills in hip-hop dance, he is also becoming a great student with the tutoring that the Good People Fund and their amazing partners-in-tzedakah at Wilshire Boulevard Temple Religious School are now underwriting.

*a pseudonym

As we all prepare for the upcoming New Year that will (hopefully) include several sumptuous meals with friends and family, we are pleased to share the following short messages we just received from some of the many people both here and in Israel who allocated our donated supermarket scrip to needy families and individuals that they work with. More than $10,000 was donated to help with food costs this holiday season. We are so grateful to all of our donors who make this possible. It does feel good!

Dear Naomi,
Here is the breakdown of how the scrip was distributed. Hopefully the holidays will be a little easier for them, thanks to your help.
Family Mraga: 1,000
Family Benshalom: 1,500nis
Tzippora: 1,000
Our contact, GL (Shimon, Liat and one other family): 3,000
Family Levin: 500
Risa Benami: 740
Ripkin: 1,000

Karyn
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Naomi

The 6,560 NIS is providing essential help in sustenance for these families. In deepest gratitude for this wonderful Holiday Mitzvah,
Avshalom
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
My dear Naomi,
… I received the scrip and I am so grateful that I can give out this money to the few girlfriends that really need a financial helping hand. There is one girlfriend, married now, who actually doesn’t have enough money to buy food. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Phyllis

Naomi,

Adam

Nothing makes us happier than hearing from Adam Burke, the founder and inspiration behind Veterans Farm in Florida. Adam, a vet who returned to this country with serious injuries, including PTSD, recalled how much farming meant to him as he was growing up on a blueberry farm. Couldn’t others returning from war with both physical and emotional disabilities gain a renewed sense of purpose by working outside, tilling the earth, planting, harvesting?

It seems that Adam’s efforts have taken off as Veterans Farm expands its work.

We could not be happier to be part of this truly lifesaving effort. Think of it the next time you enjoy a bowl of blueberries!

We just learned that Randi Cairns and her organization, Home Front Hearts will be featured on PBS’s Need to Know series this Friday evening. Randi’s experiences as the wife of a thrice-deployed soldier inspired her to begin Home Front Hearts which works to provide support and resources to the families of service members, as well as increase public awareness of the unique problems military families face while encouraging community response to those difficulties.

The Good People Fund has worked closely with Randi and her (mostly) volunteer staff. We know that it is their own personal experiences as military wives that guide them as they help other service families overcome the many problems associated with military service.

Here are two brief clips from the piece being broadcast Friday evening–well worth matching:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/health/video-military-families-struggle-with-the-war-at-home/11389/

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/health/video-supporting-military-families-home-front-hearts/11355/

The Good People Fund…once again has intervened in order to turn-around the life of an 85-year old whose challenges, including serious health issues, were insurmountable…on her own! You…joined hands with (LiLY) Morningside Village volunteers as we turned the tide through revitalizing her apartment. Your help paid for the services of someone who was hired to do a thorough cleaning of Lydia’s* large apartment, and for some basic cleaning supplies…

The tone in Lydia’s voice is now completely different. She keeps thanking us for the great weight of financial woes that was lifted from her shoulders during a time when depression had taken over. And, she has asked us to thank you at the Good People Fund from the bottom of her heart, so that she maintains her anonymity. We of the LILY Morningside Village project will do the best we can to see that she receives the support she needs to keep herself on the upside of home management, but we also send along our heartfelt thanks in making our "clean sweep" effort a reality for Lydia, as for others.

*a pseudonym

Irene Zola, founder of the New York-based LiLY-Lifeforce in Later Years just wrote us this lovely note and we could not be happier knowing that our funds allowed another elder to remain at home living independently. With LiLY volunteers stepping in to visit and interact with the area’s elders in helpful ways, we know that many other "Lydia’s" will enjoy the comforts of their own home as they age.

Over the summer we learned about some great work being done by Temple Sholom of Aberdeen (NJ) led by its inspiring social action committee. Two specific projects address just how one congregation can impact hunger in the local community.

In addition to their award-winning community garden which is run in partnership with a local church and provides nutritious fresh fruits and veggies to the local food pantry, Temple Sholom members have just instituted a Back Pack Buddy Program to begin in a few weeks. When the group learned that there were families in a nearby elementary school that had difficulty providing their children with sufficient healthy meals, they decided to begin the back pack program to help meet this need. When the program begins, ten children will be selected by the school staff to receive a pack each Friday filled with healthy snacks and easy meals to supplement their weekend nutrition. With Lou, Lenore and Helene at the helm and various segments of the congregation taking responsibility for aspects of the effort, what could be a time-consuming project seems to be working beautifully.

When we met with Lou and Helene the Good People Fund offered a matching grant to get the program jump-started and we were thrilled with how our seed money propelled the effort. We just learned that all funds have been raised and, if all goes smoothly, the group will re-evaluate their efforts mid-year and possibly add even more kids to the list.

Simple. One small community making a difference. How many more could do the same?