It is only a little past noon right now but this morning’s conversation keeps coming back to me and reminds me how little most of us know about hunger, despair, isolation…

My phone conversation was with Lois Tackett who, with her husband Ralph, runs Manna From Heaven, a food pantry in Myra, Kentucky. We have shared the story of Myra in this diary many times in the past (May 8, 2008, September 4, 2008 and May 28, 2009). Once a booming coal town, Myra’s residents today live with very little hope of a better life. Jobs are non-existent and food scarce. Lois shared that in the past several months more than 1300 men in the area have been laid off and the prospects for jobs are limited at best.

When I shared with Lois that we were going to make a visit to see what the Good People Fund could do to bring some help to the area, she was moved. But – when I asked her if she was having difficulty finding enough food for the pantry she shared that lately, she and her husband (living on very limited income themselves) were trying to cover the costs of renting a truck (and the fuel) and driving either five hours (ONE way) to Covington to a regional food bank, or two hours to a similar bank in West Virginia. The cost? About $350 for the longer haul and a little more than $200 to West Virginia. When I told Lois that the Good People Fund would cover the cost of five more trips to West Virginia there was silence on the other end of the line…After what seemed like an eternity I asked if she was still there…and that was when I heard the tears and sobbing.

In the middle of the morning in a place that most people have never heard of, and on a day that probably seemed just like the day before, and the day before that, a phone call is made and a person you do not know, who represents generous people who contribute to make the world just a little bit better, tells you that you don’t have to worry about how you are going to get the food that is going to feed hundreds of people who have very little to hope for…

It does remind me of just why we are here and do what we do…

With the mailing of our first report, we have heard from many of our old friends who are reconnecting and sending their good wishes on our work. This morning’s email included one from a woman who we have never met but with whom we had established a "cyber-friendship" over the years.

Our friend expressed her happiness with our report and asked if we would send a copy to a few of her friends so that they could learn about our unusual tzedakah work. She also mentioned something about mailing lists and asked if we buy lists from other sources. Our answer was an emphatic "no"! Many people assume that tzedakah organizations routinely purchase mailing lists from outside sources. The Good People Fund does not sell its list nor does it purchase lists from others.

What was particularly interesting was her response to my email:

My suggestion is, if your policy is NOT to do that – why not tell people that you don’t buy or sell mailing lists and give them opportunities to help you? Suggest to your audience that they can give another form of tzedakah by sending you the names and addresses of friends or family who they think would appreciate the work that you do. (You can tell them that your computer deletes duplicates, so they don’t have to worry about wasting paper or extra mail!) You can write something about how not all of us have money to give right now, but everyone has either friends or family and they can help in that way by spreading the word. You can also write that even if their friends don’t have money to give now, they would surely appreciate reading about all these great small grass-roots organizations which is part of what you do – spread inspiration. And, perhaps it would inspire them or someone THEY know to start their own grassroots way of helping the community, as people have written to tell you how they have been so inspired by all these people helping others in small ways… etc. They can therefore be a part of the Good People Work just by spreading the inspiration to their friends and family! (Of course if those good people ever do have a few extra dollars they would like to donate, that would be fine too…. !)

The number of good ideas that tumbled from this email was astounding and proved once again, Mitzvah Goreret Mitzvah-One mitzvah leads to another…

If you have family or friends that you think could be moved by the stories we share, please let us know who they are and we will send them a copy of our first report. We know they will be inspired!

(PLEASE NOTE:If they do not want to receive further mailings from us we always post simple instructions on how to be removed from our list in a prominent place.)

Henry* is an 89-year-old-widower who lost his wife to Alzheimer’s over 5 years ago. Losing his entire family during the Holocaust, Henry survived the war in a Siberian concentration camp. After arriving in the States in 1946 he worked for years in a family business. Today, he finds himself with no pension and very little savings. Henry suffered a stroke this winter and today his meager income goes to the home health care he needs to survive at home. At some point Medicaid benefits will provide that care, but in the meantime putting food on the table is not an easy task.

Ruthie* is now 82 years old but her life changed tragically when her husband died at a very young age, leaving her to raise their two children on her own. She sadly recalls having so little money that there were days that she could not provide food for her small family. The joy that Ruthie felt as each of her children married and began families of their own was short-lived. Her son and his wife were involved in a serious accident which killed the wife and left her son with severe head trauma. Ruthie, with very few resources, was then called upon to raise her 20 month old grandchild on her own. Only after insistent urging has she agreed to accept some modest help with her present food expenses.

Lilly* is a blind 93 year-old woman with many serious medical problems including an inherited degenerative spinal disorder which has been passed on to both of her daughters. She lives on a small social security pension and very little more. For Lilly, having sufficient healthy food on her table is often very difficult.

Each of the elders described above live in New York and are helped by the good people at Project Ezra (http://projectezra.org), a small non-profit dedicated to the welfare of over 400 frail elderly people, most homebound and residing on the Lower East Side. As we have in the past, the Good People Fund has just sent funds to cover the cost of a small monthly stipend for several of the elders. The funds are used to purchase supermarket scrip which is given to many of the elders to help them with their simple food needs.

It is a small thing we can do to help these elders as they age…shouldn’t they be free from worry about how they will feed themselves?

*All names have been changed.

There is never a shortage of truly compelling and distressing stories that come to us that involve children – innocent children who have been thrust into untenable positions because of their family circumstances…circumstances over which they, just youngsters, have no control.

Such was the case of a request that came to us today in an email from Libby Reichman, founder of Big Brothers, Big Sisters in Israel. Modeled after the international program of the same name, BBBS pairs adults with children and teens from troubled single-parent homes in a close mentoring relationship. We have shared many of Libby’s stories in this diary before and in each of them we have been able to make a real difference by contributing some of our donors’ tzedakah funds to solve a seemingly insurmountable problem.

Today’s story from Libby was no different…

Dina and Inbal, now 9 and 13, previously spent some time in a domestic violence safe house with their mother and older sister. It was obvious that this family had many problems which included an abusive father and a mother incapable of nurturing her children or even providing for their basic needs. With the help of a Big Sister, Moran derives some benefit from a steady relationship, but the girls’ situation is quickly deteriorating. Every professional involved in the case agrees that if the girls are to survive they must be removed from their home and placed in a group home. Before any placement can be done, though, each of them must undergo psychological testing…an expensive undertaking with a long, long waiting time before it can be implemented.

With the girls’ mother now somewhat cooperative about allowing the testing, the biggest obstacle facing Libby was the cost. Could we help?

With the help of our donors the Good People Fund was able to tell Libby to go ahead with the tests. Hopefully, these two young girls will soon be living in a warm and stable environment, free from the stress and pain of their previous life.

About one year ago (May 20, 2008 diary) we brought you the story of Maureen Kushner, the founder and inspiration behind the project called Peace Through Humor (http://peacethroughhumor.com). Peace Through Humor has been Maureen’s focus since 1994. She has traveled throughout Israel visiting kids in Israeli, Arab, Bedouin and Druze schools where she worked with them to develop original paintings based upon the theme of war and peace. The artwork has become part of a traveling exhibit which was adopted by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs and it has been our privilege to help Maureen spread her message of peace in whatever ways we can.

Maureen wrote this morning with the following update:

This year the show was exhibited in Marseilles, France for 6 months, Bern, Switzerland for 3 months and next week it will travel to Berlin for 3 months, then back again to Cyprus, to Budapest and back again to Germany…

In the USA the show is leaving Ann Arbor, Michigan today for a return engagement in a new venue in Denver for 3 months and then to Buenos Aires, Argentina…believe it or not….

Miraculously to date PTH has been shown in 178 cities in the USA and Canada and 9 countries in Europe…Cyprus, Turkey, Austria, France, Slovenia, Estonia, Finland, Switzerland and Germany…and will go to Hungary in November…and return to Cyprus and Germany…thus far….only with the power and message of the education of the heart…has it managed to be seen by more than 21 million people…

If only the number of people who have seen the exhibit took its message to heart…imagine what the world might be like today!

Imagine… you are the parents of four young children, ages four through ten. One of you works as a chambermaid in a local motel dependent upon tourists, and the other works for a landscaper who has just lost several of his clients due to the economic squeeze. The landscaping company has just told you that your hours are now cut to three days a week and this week you will not work at all. You have an overdue utility bill of $203.58 and the lights are going to be turned off soon. What do you do?

Imagine…you are the single mother of four children, only one of whom is old enough to work. You have just lost your job and now must pay your monthly rent, utilities and other living expenses but there is just not enough to go around. $84.87 will keep the lights on. What do you do?

Imagine…you are a single Mom with two young children. You did have a job and made ends meet but you were laid off and now find that the electric company has sent its final notice before turning off the power. You have a job interview for next Monday and you are sure that you can "ace" it. You just have to get the $252.23 to keep the power on. What do you do?

We heard these stories from our friends at the Caridad Center (http://caridadcenter.org) in Boynton Beach, Florida. The Center was started in 1991 by Caridad Asencio, herself an immigrant from Cuba who settled in South Florida, and her dear friend Connie Berry, a local educator. Connie and Caridad began the Center to address the many difficulties facing the migrant workers who pick Florida’s fresh fruit and vegetables. The program has grown successfully since its inception and today enlists the help of hundreds of volunteers who provide excellent medical care, tutoring and general social services.

When Connie and the organization’s present director, Barbara Vilaseca, were in touch a few days ago they told us how difficult things have become since the recent economic slowdown. Despite a good solid foundation of supporters, the organization can no longer keep up with the emergency situations that seem to arise many times each day. Could the Good People Fund help?

The above stories (and others they shared) were about real people and they represent just a fraction of the many people who have suddenly found themselves in dire straights. Before this latest catastrophe, they made ends meet. It may have been difficult and they always lived with very little but there was always food on the table and a roof over their head. For a bit more than $600 four families were saved, perhaps permanently, maybe not. We were glad to be able to step in and help.