Pasta and ketchup. What kid wouldn’t welcome a daily diet of these two nutritionally “challenged” food items? For the young children who attend one of the dozens of “gans” or daycare center (there are more than 60 of them) set up for the children of African refugees throughout Tel Aviv, that is exactly what they eat each day.

Last month as we were winding down our Israel trip we met two women whose work both inspired us and renewed once again, our belief that there are Good People out there who when working together can change the world. Several years ago Shlomo Artzi (yes, that Shlomo Artzi) and his wife Michal gathered friends and began Tzimaon with the belief that those blessed with more economic opportunities should help people who struggle daily to get by. To each of them, this is what Israel should represent.

With a staff of ten volunteers (all women), no offices and no salaries, Tzimaon focuses on educational opportunities in places like Givat Olga and the Shapira neighborhood in Tel Aviv. In our meeting we learned of the group’s latest project, the brainchild of Carmit Elad, a Tzimaon volunteer. When Carmit visited many of the refugee daycare centers and saw the conditions there she knew she needed to do something. With the cooperation of “Daniella’s Gan”, she brought together both Israeli and African volunteers to turn this dark and sad classroom into a true Gan Eden! (Garden of Eden) Walls were painted, carpets laid, new furniture, computers, toys…whatever they would want for their own children they believed should be there for these children as well.

When the Good People Fund learned about the pasta and ketchup diet it was very easy to agree to a matching grant to provide one year’s worth of healthy, nutritious lunches for the children in Daniella’s gan. It’s what we would want for our own children, why not these?

“It’s an unbelievable feeling that someone is free because of what you did. That’s thanks enough.”

Over the years, how many teachers have inspired us? Introduced us to a world we never knew existed…perhaps, encouraged us to pursue a career that we never would have considered?

When Evan Robbins started teaching almost 20 years ago, he no doubt hoped that he might one day be that teacher and touch a student’s life in a transformational way. We doubt that he ever imagined that one day he would literally save many young lives; lives of young Ghanaian children sold by their parents into a life of slavery to the fishermen working on Lake Volta in that country.

The NY Times article that described the life of one of these children inspired Evan to bring the subject up in one of his social science classes where enthused students decided to raise money to help such children.  The rest, as they say, is history.

From that initial class effort came Breaking the Chain Through Education, an organization whose goal it is to rescue children from slavery. While Evan’s students still work on behalf of BTCTE, the effort expanded beyond the school community when non-profit status was granted.

To date, 40 young people have been rescued, gone through a period of rehabilitation and are now in school. In addition, BTCTE raised enough funds to build a school for 240 children in a remote village. In exchange for the school (and housing for teachers) the village agreed to ensure that no local children would be sold into slavery.

Evan makes regular visits to Ghana as he continues his quest to save young lives. It is no accident that he has received numerous awards for his humanitarian work including the prestigious Reg Weaver Human and Civil Rights Award (last bestowed upon President Jimmy Carter) from the National Education Association.

When we met Evan he inspired us as well and the Good People Fund’s initial grant has made it possible for BTCTE to better tell its story through an improved website and logo.

We also have some even more exciting news – another engaged couple! They have known each other for years and even dated for a while 5 years ago. They sat together during our course this past year and gradually got to know each other better….the rest is history, or rather, the rest is just beginning.

Rabbi Shaul Inbari, whose CP has left him disabled and confined to a wheelchair, often dreamed of coming home each day to a warm and loving partner. Loneliness was forever with him as the years passed. When he one day shared his frustration of living a life of isolation with his dear friend Shalomi Eldar, Shalomi challenged him by suggesting that they publicize a gathering for people with disabilities. Surely there were others frustrated by the lack of social opportunities available for disabled people. Within hours both were inundated with calls of interest and their first meeting attracted more people than they could comfortably accommodate. Clearly these two trailblazers had uncovered a deep unmet need in the world of disabled people. In 2012 they organized Inbar as an official amuta to offer social events as well as courses in relationships and social integration. The group has been bolstered by the efforts of several matchmakers and other volunteers who work hard to promote Inbar’s goals, and today has more than 400 people with a wide range of disabilities registered in their database.

In addition to the latest engagement noted above, Inbar’s work has resulted in other weddings including Rabbi Inbari’s!

We love what Inbar stands for and The Good People Fund offered a matching grant (successfully met) which has resulted in the hiring of the group’s first social worker who will help implement the organization’s goals and provide support and guidance to the growing number of disabled people seeking happiness and love.

Why not?

So many of the great programs we support focus on hunger, whether it be here in America or in Israel. Sometimes, we think that the “din” created by this crisis goes largely unnoticed just because it is always there…a fact of life. Perhaps it is something so overwhelming that we just ignore it or push it out of our consciousness.

It was our friend Enid Borden, founder of NFESH (National Foundation to End Senior Hunger) and the Jack and Eleanor Borden Kosher Meal Fund who really helped us connect with this specific face of hunger in America. Nearly 1 in 6 elders in our country face hunger and in places like Washington, DC those figures are even more alarming at 1 in 4.

This short video (which features Enid Borden) puts real faces on this tragedy unfolding in the world’s wealthiest society. Take a look.

“Our goal is to provide people walking along life’s edge with what they need to move forward.”

 It was a chance visit to her local supermarket back in 1999 that led Fran Held, a Pennsylvania wife and Mom, into a world she never imagined.  While making a purchase in the bakery department she witnessed the manager preparing to toss a perfectly beautiful sheet cake into the garbage because of a crack in the icing. With so many hungry people nearby, Fran could not imagine something like this happening. Even more astounding was the manager’s admission that they routinely tossed leftovers at the close of business each and every day.

Spurred on by this revelation, Fran asked the manager if he would donate those leftovers if volunteers arrived on schedule each day to pick-up. When he agreed, Fran went into action and organized a group of volunteers who ran daily pick-ups and delivered to local shelters and pantries in the area.

The Mitzvah Circle Foundation is the natural outcome from those earliest days of food rescue. Today, Fran’s passion to help people living “on the edge” includes numerous other programs made possible by a large contingent of local volunteers who represent many different segments of the larger community. Each program, whether it addresses the needs of homeless people, those with insufficient food, individuals in crisis or those dealing with serious illness, a diaper bank or school supplies for children from families that cannot afford the materials needed for effective learning, is facilitated with a deeply personal and compassionate focus.

This program is maintained on a shoe-string budget with low administrative costs  and (mostly) gifts-in-kind. The Good People Fund offered funding which allowed Fran to purchase new computers and updated software (she had been using donated out-of-date machines), a copy machine, telephone system, additional materials (tables, chairs, telephone) for her donated warehouse space as well as a fund for emergency client needs as they arise. As can be imagined, Fran reports that things are running much more smoothly now!

Over the years we have mentioned the good work of Alice Jonah many times. Once employed as the activities director at Jerusalem’s old Diplomat Hotel which had been converted to an absorption center for mostly elderly Russian olim (refugees), Alice is retired but still helps the residents in many ways.  We support her “home health aide” project which employs stronger residents to help those less independent, remains a life-saving operation.  Newly organized was Bayit Cham, a social group which meets regularly to celebrate birthdays and provide general socialization for the residents. Alice just sent us this great picture of a recent 90th birthday party held for Sonya (holding the flowers.)

We are certain that the faces pictured here may remind many of us of long-lost relatives and we know that the Good People Fund’s modest investment in this group’s activities pays far greater dividends than we could imagine.