When it comes to helping underprivileged people, food and clothing are the items that usually come to mind. Hygiene products like toothpaste, soap, and shampoo, are almost as important, but often are forgotten in charitable giving.

Jeff Feingold, a Weston resident, set out to address this unmet need with his nonprofit Hope and Comfort, Inc. Feingold, who is Jewish, came up with the idea in 2010, when his daughter Grace turned two, and he and his wife Loren decided to ask for donations to the children’s charity, Cradles to Crayons, in lieu of gifts. Feingold and his family are members of Temple Shir Tikva in Wayland. He said the Jewish value of tzedakah (charity) helped shape who he is and his desire to help out those in need. “We are lucky, our kids are lucky; they have many things others may not have,” said Feingold, who also has a nine­year­old son, Kenny. “We thought, ‘How many more presents could they possibly need?’”

In addition to toys and clothing, guests turned up at Grace’s birthday party with soap, shampoo, baby wipes, and other toiletries. Soon after, Feingold got a call from a social worker, who thanked him for the contribution and told him about the great need for hygiene items in poor communities.

Children and teens with no access to hygiene products are at risk for bullying, are often too embarrassed to go to school and engage in social activities, and end up suffering in isolation. “Positive feelings towards oneself can be difficult to achieve without the ability to look or feel clean. Think about how you feel after a hot shower or after you brush your teeth,” Feingold wrote on his website, hopeandcomfort.org. The organization’s tagline is “Providing dignity one bar of soap at a time.”

Soon after the birthday party, Feingold began donating more toiletries to various organizations in Boston. His first big donation came later that same year, when he gave 250 tubes of toothpaste to Jewish Family & Children’s Service ( JF&CS). The following year, in 2011, Hope and Comfort received its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. The organization has been growing steadily since, hitting a milestone of 70,000 donated items and moving from Feingold’s garage to a storage space in Newton at the end of last year.

For Feingold, his nonprofit is a family endeavor. Grace and Kenny help out with packing and sorting items at the storage facility. “As we’ve gotten bigger and began to help more people, I think they have an appreciation for what we’re trying to do,” Feingold said.

From his synagogue’s rabbi, Neal Gold, Feingold found out about the Good People Fund (GPF), a Jewish philanthropy which funds various organizations across the United States and Israel. In addition to a financial contribution, GPF also provides guidance and networking opportunities. Hope and Comfort received an opening grant of $7,500 from GPF, while relying on individual donations for the rest of its $100,000 annual budget. Feingold receives at least one request a day for toiletries through his online request form from individuals, shelters, schools, and charities. “Items like soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and deodorant are so basic and they’re often overlooked by the general public,” Feingold said. Personal care products are not covered by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), leaving many people who live below the poverty line having to choose between food and soap and toothpaste.

Hope and Comfort distributes toiletries through two programs: Stock the Shelves brings about 1000 of these items each month to seven food pantries in and around Boston, including JF&CS’ Family Table; while Soap for Hope, in partnership with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston, focuses exclusively on children’s organizations and schools. The hygiene kits given out by the Soap for Hope program are also used in health and wellness classes in Boston Public Schools to teach the importance of hygiene.

Feingold first began collecting toiletries by buying them himself and receiving donations from volunteers. Now that his nonprofit has gained momentum, most of the toiletries are donated by manufacturers and retailers, and with the help of charity drives in schools.

Feingold, who earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and works full time at Fidelity Investments, runs Hope and Comfort in his spare time. He hired his first full time employee, Julie Williams, a year ago. Williams has an MBA from Babson College and serves as the managing director of the nonprofit. Hope and Comfort is now getting ready to hire two part­time employees to write grants and manage marketing.

In addition to giving out toiletries to various organizations, Feingold conducts surveys to collect data from these organizations to understand why and where the need for toiletries exists and how these items are being used, in order to supply the right ones.

His goal is to give away 1 million products in the next five years. In order to achieve this goal, Feingold wants to expand deliveries to more food pantries and children’s organizations. He also hopes to partner with other organizations, like Dress for Success, which provides clothing for job interviews to low­income women. “The demand is farreaching and endless” he said.

Providing dignity one bar of soap at a time _ www.thejewishadvocate

The Interfaith Food Pantry of the Oranges (IFPO), a local organization providing supplemental and emergency food to low-income residents in Orange and East Orange, is the recent recipient of a challenge grant.  The grant was given by the Good People Fund, a township-based organization which offers financial support and mentorship to small, effective initiatives dedicated to repairing the world.

IFPO is a joint effort of four religious institutions: Christ Church and Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in the township, and Congregation Beth El and Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel in South Orange. IFPO operates out of the Church of the Epiphany  in Orange.

“The IFPO is a great example of not only interfaith cooperation but also neighboring communities stepping up to offer help where it is needed,” says Naomi Eisenberger, executive director of the Good People Fund.

IFPO’s board members are active volunteers in the organization, arranging volunteer schedules, stocking the pantry, coordinating deliveries and anything else needed to insure that the operation runs smoothly.

“The IFPO has been helping families for nearly 20 years with food assistance in a dignified and respectful way,” explains Jodi Cooperman, a member of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun and treasurer of IFPO. “We are very happy to be connected with the Good People Fund and the network of grantees they have built.”

Supported by food drives and monetary donations from member congregations, businesses and private individuals as well as other organizations, IFPO exemplifies how an organization can use its creative vision to help meet basic human needs, while operating with very low overhead and generating inspiring results.

InterfaithFoodPantry.Item

There is only one, blinking traffic light in McRoberts, a small mining community in southeastern Kentucky.

The nearest supermarket is 25 miles away and the median income is $18,333. The once thriving 5.4 square-mile town, home to nearly 3,000 mining jobs, was devastated in 1998 when an energy company began blasting away mountaintops in the area.

Mining jobs disappeared and the small dot on Kentucky’s border shrunk even more.

Township resident Naomi Eisenberger first saw the poverty in the once vibrant community when she visited in 2010 with Rabbi Steven Bayer, of Congregation B’nai Israel, coming away filled with despair at what time and progress wrought.

The two will return to McRoberts for the fifth consecutive year from Sunday, June 7, through Friday, June 10.

“Urban poverty I know, but rural poverty is a very different thing,” said Eisenberger, the founding executive director of the Good People Fund (GPF). The nonprofit organization provides financial support, guidance and mentoring to charitable activities of modest proportions undertaken by people acting singly or in small groups, according to the GPF website.

“I’ve lived in suburbia all my life, so this was an environment I’d never been exposed to,” she added. “Here, there are resources all over the place, but McRoberts is so isolated.”

Eisenberger and Bayer will be joined by Millburn volunteers Henry and Roslyn Brendzel, and Lara and Jesse Moehlmanl. The group is partnering with the Redistribution Center of Colorado, which brings unused retail merchandise to struggling families in America.

Though GPF volunteers have returned annually to McRoberts for five years, Eisenberger said it took close to three years to establish a trusting relationship.

“I think there was a natural suspicion that we were sort of going to drop in and out,” Eisenberger said. “Over time, they saw we were really committed and the community itself came to understand we were serious about wanting to be part of their lives.”

The first GPF-sponsored program in McRoberts was implemented in 2010 through an organization called Family to Family, designed to help people living in poverty in rural communities.

GPF and Family to Family teamed up to create “Food for Backpacks,” after the principal of McRoberts’ elementary school reached out to Family to Family for help feeding her students on the weekends.

According to the census, more than 90 percent of McRoberts’ children qualify for free or reduced lunch, and because many students in the elementary school rely on the school’s breakfast and lunch program, Eisenberger said few children are properly nourished on weekends.

And so, every Friday afternoon, the children picked up a bag filled with food for the weekends. Eisenberger said the program provided the children with a year’s-worth of supplies and once the year was up, the principal again reached out to Family to Family requesting another year of the program. Food for Backpacks has been in place at the McRoberts elementary school ever since.

Despite the commitment of GPF and other independent organizations to McRoberts, Eisenberger said there has been insignificant advancements in the Appalachian city.

“There are so many things going against the tide which makes it an area resistant to any improvement,” said Eisenberger, who listed physical isolation and widespread drug abuse among many hindrances from development. School is closed down for weeks at a time during the rougher winters, she added, because there is no way to clear the unpaved roads for the school busses.

The people, however, are “warm, humble and appreciative,” Eisenberger said, which is why she will return to McRoberts again and again, so long as the one traffic light blinks.

McRoberts – Non-Profit News – NorthJersey

Notable new grants compiled by The Chronicle:

Grainger Foundation

The foundation awarded $20 million to Chicago’s Field Museum to create new science learning programs and support for research technologies. The grant supports the museum’s $250-million campaign, which has also received several major gifts.

Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust

The foundation awarded a $17.5 million grant over three years to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America to develop an online database of research and resources for academic and industry researchers, patients, clinicians, and health-care providers. The project aims to foster collaboration and information sharing that leads to better care, treatments, and cures for the digestive diseases.

Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation

The foundation awarded $2 million over three years to New York University to expand its scholarship and advising program for students transferring from local partner community colleges.

John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

The foundation awarded $500,000 to the Detroit Journalism Cooperative, a project for radio, TV, print, and online reporting on Detroit’s municipal bankruptcy and involving citizens in finding ways to revitalize the city and deal with its challenges.

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

The foundation awarded $200,000 to a pilot program at 15 of Virginia’s Community Colleges to cut textbook costs by supporting open-educational resources online

Herb Alpert Foundation

The grant maker awarded $150,000 to the Good People Fund to provide financial support and professional guidance to innovative grass-roots nonprofits. The foundation has given a total of $800,000 to the fund over the last six years.

Carnegie Corporation of New York

The foundation awarded $50,000 to CRDF Global, a science-focused nonprofit, for its yearlong Robin Copeland Memorial Fellowship, which supports women scientists studying the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons. The remainder of the fellowship is being crowdfunded.

Grants Roundup_ The Chronicle of Philanthropy

The Good People Fund, a nonprofit, tzedakah initiative deeply rooted in the work oftikkun olam in the US and Israel, has announced a new fellowship program in partnership with the national education consortium NewCAJE, in which participants spend a year focused on merging Jewish education strategies with service-learning and social action tactics. The Good People Fund NewCAJE 2015 Fellowship Program includes three $700 scholarships. Jewish educators, full or part-time, in the field of Jewish education for 5-8 years are eligible to apply through May 26, 2015 atgoodpeoplefund.wufoo.com/forms/good-people-fund-fellowship-at-newcaje

“Through a targeted year-long program, this new fellowship opportunity was created to enhance and support the work of Jewish educators who are focused on service-learning,tzedakah or social action content in their settings,” explains Robyn Faintich, The Good People Fund’s Education Consultant. “We are looking forward to combining the launch of the fellowship with the annual NewCAJE conference which emphasizes the sharing of information, learning new Jewish education techniques, and sharing problem solutions.”

The fellowship begins with a series of sessions led by Faintich and Rabbi Steven Bayar. The sessions will focus on the building blocks of service-learning and goals and strategies of volunteerism and social action. Additional sessions focus on the Good People Fund Grab ‘n’ Go Lessons – modular curriculum guides, which provide educators with an all-encompassing lesson which includes everything from set induction activities to text study to hands-on application. The Grab ‘n’ Go Lessons are each centered around a Good People Fund grantee and the passionate work they do to improve the world. The lessons are designed so educators can easily adapt them for a variety of learning settings. Fellows will utilize these and other Good People Fund education tools through the year. Following the conference, the fellowship will continue through a series of web-based meetings.

Full details of the fellowship program can be found atgoodpeoplefund.wufoo.com/forms/good-people-fund-fellowship-at-newcaje

New Fellowship Program For Jewish Educators Launched

That year is approaching — the one where your soon-to-be 13 year old (or 12 year old in some communities) will become a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Along with the never-ending to-do list— lessons with the Cantor or Rabbi, the speech, a party, decisions about the guest list, there is that one other obstacle — THE MITZVAH PROJECT. In too many families, it is actually the dreaded Mitzvah Project!

After more than twenty years of work in the tzedakah world, often guiding parents and kids on their Mitzvah Project journey, I can say for certainty that this seemingly simple task has evolved into something rather different from the idea that first took hold a few decades ago. For too many kids THE PROJECT has become a rote exercise, something on the check list, much like ordering party giveaways or addressing invitations. Too often, projects become a hasty one-time event collecting specific items to donate or soliciting funds for a specific cause.

As Marnee Spierer, a Scottsdale mom of 12 year-old Ellie, recently shared, I always thought the concept of a ‘mitzvah project’ was an interesting one – doing a project just before a Bat/Bar Mitzvah felt weird to me. I always thought that becoming a bat/bar mitzvah should be an introduction to life-long “mitzvahdom”. We agree with Marnee’s perspective — doing the project for only the sake of the Bar or Bat Mitzvah event just doesn’t seem right. Don’t we want our kids to see this as the beginning of a lifelong commitment to mitzvot and tzedakah?

Ellie launched her Bat Mitzvah project on her 12th birthday when friends gathered to assemble “birthday boxes” for kids from rural communities who might not otherwise celebrate their birthdays with all of the traditional trappings. (Ellie and her mom learned of this project through one of our grantees, Family to Family, which encourages people to ease hunger and poverty by sharing their bounty with people in our country’s poorest regions.) The Spierer family’s goal is that each month Ellie will engage in similar activities geared to help people who are less fortunate. Far from a “one-shot” deal, the values this year’s activities engender will no doubt be lifelong.

Ellie launched her Bat Mitzvah project on her 12^th birthday when friends gathered to assemble “birthday boxes” for kids from rural communities who might not otherwise celebrate their birthdays with all of the traditional trappings. (Ellie and her mom learned of this project through one of our grantees, Family to Family, which encourages people to ease hunger and poverty by sharing their bounty with people in our country’s poorest regions.) The Spierer family’s goal is that each month Ellie will engage in similar activities geared to help people who are less fortunate.  Far from a “one-shot” deal, the values this year’s activities engender will no doubt be lifelong.

Max Wallack also turned his Bar Mitzvah project into a transformative effort that continues even today as he approaches college graduation and Harvard Medical School. Max grew up with his great-grandmother living with his family. As Alzheimer’s disease ravaged her memory, Max did some research and learned that puzzles are an effective therapy for people living with dementia. For his Bar Mitzvah project he set up collection boxes around town and invited people to donate boxed puzzles which he then delivered to local nursing homes for elders to use.  From that first collection, Max’s idea grew and soon he incorporated Puzzles to Remember, now a US non-profit organization that provides puzzles to facilities caring for patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia. In addition to collecting puzzles, Max approached the country’s largest puzzle manufacturer who agreed to produce more age appropriate large-piece puzzles specifically for such patients.

At the age of 12, Amy Sacks (now Amy Sacks Zeide) of Atlanta was stunned to learn of the theft of holiday toys at a local shelter. She immediately donated some of her own money to help replace those toys and the next year, as a Bat Mitzvah project, organized Amy’s Holiday Party which gathered kids from local social service agencies and offered them a fun day ending with the gifting of toys and games. Now more than 20 years later,Amy’s Holiday Party continues under the aegis of Creating Connected Communities, the non-profit organization that Amy started over five years ago to provide local teens with leadership training skills and social action skills. Thousands of kids have benefited from the ideas Amy began to cultivate as she approached her Bat Mitzvah in 1994.

Max, Amy and Ellie had no special skills that allowed them to go beyond what might be the typical mitzvah project. What they did have was a passion for helping others and an attitude that clearly included “I can do that.” Kids can change our world. In fact, I often say that sometimes they are the best ones to do it because they don’t dwell on the reasons why something cannot be done…they just do it.

Challenge your kids long before their 13^th birthday pops up on the calendar. Ask them what they like to do; what they are good at; what in this world makes them angry and want to shout about. When you get the answers to those questions you are on the road to a meaningful, life-changing mitzvah project!

Naomi Eisenberger co-founded the Good People Fund in 2008. Inspired by the concept of tikkun olam or repairing the world, the fund provides financial support and mentoring to small grass-roots efforts that alleviate significant problems such as poverty, disability, trauma and social isolation, primarily in the United States and Israel. https://www.goodpeoplefund.org.

The Mitzvah Project- Curse or Blessing_ _ The Mitzvah Bowl