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Good News Update

A Year of Healing and Harvest at Ruca’s Farm

2025 was a year of tremendous growth for Good People Fund grantee Ruca’s Farm, founded by Nir Lahav, to offer support and healing to people suffering from PTSD. The farm doubled its participant numbers, welcoming more than 180 individuals through core programs like Arugot (rehabilitation for long-term PTSD) and Shavim (early intervention for October 7 soldiers struggling to return to routine life after hundreds of days in reserves). Two new programs launched this year: Marva, supporting women whose partners cope with PTSD, and Advot, group therapy for couples dealing with early signs of post-trauma. To maintain connection with alumni, the farm developed on-site workshops including baking, handmade pasta-making, beekeeping, ice baths, photography, vegetable pickling, and writing/songwriting with a member of the band Hadag Nahash, along with monthly lectures and community events. The therapeutic staff expanded significantly, and in December, 250 people gathered to celebrate the farm’s third anniversary, a testament to how this place has become home for so many.

Beyond therapeutic programming, Ruca’s Farm strengthened its agricultural foundation and volunteer community in 2025. With support from expert agronomists the farm significantly improved agricultural planning, beautifying the grounds and cultivating thriving organic vegetables now distributed to Tel Aviv employees, sold direct-to-home, and marketed to restaurants and health-food stores. Bee Hill underwent a major transformation with new pergolas, pathways, a small pond, and plantings, creating a peaceful sanctuary where expanded beekeeping programs now include rehabilitation courses for participants. The volunteer base grew to over 100 regular weekly volunteers, plus more than 1,200 corporate volunteers from 50+ high-tech groups, and international delegations from Birthright and Jewish Federations. Seven enthusiastic shin-shinim (national service volunteers) joined in September, supporting agricultural work, assisting participants in the field, organizing events, and conducting outreach with at-risk youth in neighboring Or Yehuda. Looking ahead to 2026, the farm plans to open a women-only PTSD group, construct a creative arts center, install a traditional Middle Eastern bustan garden, develop the Ayalon Creek gathering space, and add solar panels that will generate both power and income.

Serving Up Soup—and Community—at Zumwalt Acres

Good People Fund grantee Zumwalt Acres in Illinois, co-founded by sisters Gavi and Remi Welbel provides Community Soup to their neighbors as a way to build community, address food insecurity, and offer dignity. This is a wonderful project in which there is no difference between anyone who attends, offering community and soup to all. Everyone is encouraged to bring containers to take soup home. The Good People Fund was proud to assist with a matching grant to help fund this beautiful initiative.

Pictured here is Gavi Welbel, co-founder of Zumwalt Acres, with her apple harvest.

Snow Days are for ‘Konnection’

When school was cancelled in Detroit this week, our Good People Fund grantee Sharnese Harris, Founder of The Konnection, continued to serve her students by moving their mentoring program online and surprising them with pizza. No surprise that with that type of dedication and commitment to their students, they had almost full attendance! The Konnection combats chronic absenteeism by providing students with mentoring, essential resources, attendance incentives, and enriching experiences that inspire them to stay engaged in school.

From Refugee to Leader: Bahati’s Journey with International Neighbors

Good People Fund grantee International Neighbors (IN), founded by Kari Miller, shared a recent story about a beneficiary whose life was changed by their timely support. Read below to learn about Bahati who was helped as a new American and is now a donor and supporter of IN’s important work supporting new community members in Charlottesville:
At 23 years old, Bahati Majuto fled the Democratic Republic of the Congo after the 1996 war left many of his family members slaughtered, and his town annihilated. Bahati was separated from his wife and son in the process. 
 
A refugee camp in Burundi was Bahati’s “home” for five years, until he reunited with his family in South Africa. Bahati, a renowned tailor for many of Africa’s elite, attempted to continue his career by working out of a shipping-container-turned-tailor-shop that he created. His business was attacked and the makeshift building was destroyed twice in three years. Finally, in 2013, 16 years after first applying for refugee status with the UNHCR, the Majuto family was resettled in Charlottesville, Virginia.
 
His first years in the United States were not without challenges. When International Neighbors connected with the Majuto family, they were struggling with meaningful employment, isolation, and healthcare access. We were able to coordinate a vehicle donation, help them understand bills and medical care in the U.S., and assist with home improvements including having a dangerous dead tree removed in their backyard where a now-thriving garden grows.
 
Bahati is now a homeowner and a naturalized citizen. He continues to work multiple jobs to provide for his family of seven, and sends money to his surviving relatives in Africa. His oldest son graduated from William & Mary in 2021 and is studying for his Master’s at Yale University.
 
Bahati has moved from client to volunteer and donor at International Neighbors. He has connected 23 families with our services, given countless rides to refugees in his IN-donated vehicle, and made gifts to our Annual Fund.
 
“I know firsthand what International Neighbors does for newcomers, and it is God’s work,” says Bahati.

Reflecting on GPF’s Transformative Support

Rekindle, Cleveland

Matt Fieldman, co-founder of Rekindle, an organization that supports bridge-building between Black and Jewish community leaders, shared a reflection about meeting Naomi several years ago when the organization was struggling to find its footing. He noted that the Good People Fund offered the “first real vote of confidence and meaningful support we had ever received.” That early belief helped launch a period of rapid growth, allowing them to reach far more fellows. They are now operating in 20 cities around the country. (A Good People Talk! podcast episode on Rekindle will be releasing soon.)

 

https://www.goodpeoplefund.org/program/rekindle/

Witness to Mass Incarceration, NYC

Evie Litwok, the founder of Witness to Mass Incarceration, recently reminded the team that The Good People Fund made her “very first donation.” This was a pivotal moment that helped launch her work supporting formerly incarcerated individuals. What began as a Suitcase Project to provide essential supplies for people to restart their lives has since evolved into a multi-pronged organization offering advocacy, vocational training, networking, and documenting stories that would have otherwise remained invisible.

 

https://www.goodpeoplefund.org/program/witness-to-mass-incarceration/

A Courageous Voice, Detroit

Amy Ever, Founder of A Courageous Voice and her board chair, Lexie Schwarze, shared that over the past nine months, they have “completely re-energized their board, increased their revenue, and brought their organization back from the brink of closure to stability and strength.” They credit the mentoring, workshops, and tools provided by the Good People Fund as instrumental in this turnaround. Additionally, the matching grant Good People Fund offered them last year sparked significant fundraising momentum for them. Today, the organization is teaching hundreds of children how to stay safe from harm, both online and offline.