Our visionary and engaging partners talk about their drive and impact in Good People Talk, the monthly podcast of The Good People Fund. It’s all about good people doing good in the world with creativity and hard work … and talking about it!
Find a new episode of Good People Talk here each month, or subscribe on SoundCloud. We’d love to hear your comments or suggestions too. So be in touch!
Stories of Hope: Everyday Boston
Everyday Boston is a Good People Fund grantee that is weaving shared storytelling into the civic fabric of Boston.
The intention is to elevate empathy, dismantle barriers, forge connections and build stronger communities within and among neighborhoods in a multicultural city with its own history of fracture.
“Stories can link us when almost nothing else can,” says Cara Solomon, Everyday Boston’s Founder and Creative Director. “Stories are our connective tissue.”
— “Stories of Hope” is a special series of Good People Talk!, where audio storytelling brings the impact of our Good People Fund grantees alive.
— Read The Good People Fund 2025 Journal of Good for more stories of inspiration, hope and impact:
www.goodpeoplefund.org/news-and-publications/annual-reports/
— Thank you to our narrator, Jordan Rich of Chart Productions, and our voice artist Glenn Rosenkrantz
Stories of Hope: TribeTalk
It was five years ago that three mothers of college-bound students founded TribeTalk, a Good People Fund grantee.
Their mission … to empower Jewish students with tools, information and resources to evaluate college environments … and also to address antisemitism and anti-Israel bias on campus and beyond.
“We are providing a shield for Jewish students to move through their spaces,” says Jude Sydney, one of the founders, along with Michelle Black and Robin Friedman. “They will be street smart, informed, tactical and practical.”
— “Stories of Hope” is a special series of Good People Talk!, where audio storytelling brings the impact of our Good People Fund grantees alive.
— Read The Good People Fund 2025 Journal of Good for more stories of inspiration, hope and impact:
www.goodpeoplefund.org/news-and-publications/annual-reports/
— Thank you to our narrator, Jordan Rich of Chart Productions, and our voice artist Ari Sapers-Sydney
Stories of Hope: A New Dawn in the Negev
He was 16 and on a well-worn path of societal isolation, educational stagnation, and other barriers to promise. One of 14 children in an Arab-Bedouin family in Israel’s Negev region, Ahamad was immersed in a cycle of inertia common to his generation.
A New Dawn in the Negev — a Good People Fund grantee — is embracing possibility and elevation … not constriction and stagnation.
“The invisible students, the invisible youth, they have to know someone is looking at them … I have the responsibility to the next generation to bring them the light of tomorrow,” says Founder and CEO Jamal Alkirnawi, an Arab-Bedouin social worker.
— “Stories of Hope” is a special series of Good People Talk!, where audio storytelling brings the impact of our Good People Fund grantees alive.
— Read The Good People Fund 2025 Journal of Good for more stories of inspiration, hope and impact:
www.goodpeoplefund.org/news-and-publications/annual-reports/
— Thank you to our narrator: Jordan Rich of Chart Productions
Stories of Hope: Brit Ha’Leviot
Almog was 20 when he embraced his gender identity, nearly 13 years ago. Public consciousness of transgender issues — and support for individuals and families — was far from present.
For Merav Livni Keish — Almog’s mother — silence was no option. She began talking to people, uncovering others’ experiences. She dug deep into the medical world, accumulating facts and realities.
Eventually, she founded Brit Ha’Leviot, a Good People Fund grantee promoting the rights and wellbeing of transgender individuals and their families … and educating Israeli society about gender diversity.
— “Stories of Hope” is a special series of Good People Talk!, where audio storytelling brings the impact of our Good People Fund grantees alive.
— Read The Good People Fund 2025 Journal of Good for more stories of inspiration, hope and impact:
www.goodpeoplefund.org/news-and-publications/annual-reports/
— Thank you to our narrator: Stephanie Garry
Stories of Hope: MyChild’sCancer
MyChild’sCancer — founded by Oded Grinstein in 2010 and a Good People Fund grantee — is a result of his family’s arduous and ultimately successful journey through pediatric cancer.
It is a growing, grassroots ecosystem of emotional, logistical and informed support for parents navigating pediatric cancer. It empowers and equips them as advocates for their child’s care, survival and recovery.
Oded refers to MyChild’sCancer as a basement start-up, connecting disparate dots for parents when questions come faster than answers. “These are game changers,” he says.
— “Stories of Hope” is a special series of Good People Talk!, where audio storytelling brings the impact of our Good People Fund grantees alive.
— Read The Good People Fund 2025 Journal of Good for more stories of inspiration, hope and impact:
www.goodpeoplefund.org/news-and-publications/annual-reports/
— Thank you to our narrator: Stephanie Garry
Stories of Hope: Tag Meir
The graffiti was vile, sprayed on buildings in Tur’an, a mainly Arabic village in Israel’s Galilee region. Soon after, a delegation from Tag Meir went to meet council members and residents as an act of solidarity and compassion.
Gadi Gvaryahu, founder of Tag Meir, was there. “It starts with graffiti … if it is ignored, it ends with much worse … and it has.”
As a Good People Fund grantee — Tag Meir trains educators, engages in public campaigns, advocates in policy-making spheres, and sometimes offers legal and financial help to victims of racist acts.
— “Stories of Hope” is a special series of Good People Talk!, where audio storytelling brings the impact of our Good People Fund grantees alive.
— Read The Good People Fund 2025 Journal of Good for more stories of inspiration, hope and impact:
www.goodpeoplefund.org/news-and-publications/annual-reports/
— Thank you to our narrator, Stephanie Garry, and voice artist Glenn Rosenkrantz
Episode 69: In Israel, Changing Young Lives through Sports
Dr. Rutie Pilz-Burstein is the Founder and CEO of Sport – Bridge to Education, a nonprofit organization using sports to empower Israeli children and young adults in risk situations … enabling them to break cycles of failure and take alternate paths toward responsibility and success. She describes how a vision became a reality and the lives being uplifted and changed. Rutie speaks with GPF Co-Founder and Executive Director Naomi Eisenberger.
The Good People Fund:
Read The Good People Fund Journal of Good for stories of inspiration, hope and impact:
https://www.goodpeoplefund.
Episode 68: For Incarcerated Individuals, Ensuring Proper Medical Care as a Right
Dr. Mark Fenig — Founder and Executive Director of Medical Justice Alliance, a Good People Fund grantee — describes alarming inequities and injustices in medical care afforded incarcerated individuals in the US … and how he was moved by ethics and conscience to change that reality, advocating for compassionate or medical care releases on a case by case basis. He speaks with GPF Associate Executive Director Julie Fisher.
The Good People Fund:
Read The Good People Fund 2024 Journal of Good for stories of inspiration, hope and impact:
https://www.goodpeoplefund.
Episode 67: The Toll of Xenophobia
Refugees, asylees and immigrants — and grassroots organizations providing them with critical services and community — are challenged as never before as xenophobia and official policies create an increasingly oppressive environment.
Shoshana Barzel of New Neighbors Partnership, Kristen Bloom of Refugee Assistance Alliance, and Kari Miller of International Neighbors lead Good People Fund-supported organizations navigating this evolving reality. The three social visionaries speak with GPF Executive Director Naomi Eisenberger about what they are seeing, how they are pivoting … and why we all must pay attention.
The Good People Fund:
Read The Good People Fund 2024 Journal of Good for stories of inspiration, hope and impact:
https://www.goodpeoplefund.
Grantee Program(s) Featured in This Episode:
International Neighbors
New Neighbors Partnership
Refugee Assistance Alliance
Episode 66: “Women Belong in Every Room”
As a Latina woman, Yurani Sandoval knows well the cultural, familial and personal challenges to work-life balance and achievement. She founded Women Palante — a Good People Fund grantee — to empower other Latinas to find their voices and entrepreneurial success by building skills, networking, and importantly … practicing self-care, awareness and purpose.
Good People Fund Associate Executive Director Julie Fisher speaks to Yurani about her trajectory as a Latina in the United States, the vision she established for Women Palante, and its significant, growing impact elevating Latina women leaders.
The Good People Fund:
Read The Good People Fund 2024 Journal of Good for stories of inspiration, hope and impact:
https://www.goodpeoplefund.
