Zane Buzby, founder of Survivor Mitzvah Project was recently in touch to let us know that she had met her goal of raising matching funds for a grant we offered her program. The Good People Fund match will help make it possible for Zane to once again visit elderly survivors in Eastern Europe next winter. All of these elders live in extreme poverty, isolated, sick and lonely. Zane’s visits are nothing less than a life-saving injection of hope and compassion as she makes her way from village to village bringing modest funds, small gifts and her amazing personality.

Nothing can quite tell Zane’s story better than this recently completed video. It is an amazing story…stop and watch…you will be moved. http://youtu.be/bJLRKA2VhAY

You never know where a conversation will end up. We spend so much time each day speaking to people all over the country. Many want to learn more about our work and some even want advice on how they can make a difference in their own communities. In truth, that is one of our primary reasons for sharing our "good people" stories…to inspire others to do the same, in their own way, in their own community.

About a year ago, Stacy Kamisar from Weston, CT was one of those callers. Stacy wanted to do something in her community… the question was what? We discussed several ideas and after some time Stacy decided that working with books was meaningful and could truly change lives.

We were not surprised when the following email arrived recently. Stacy has succeeded in every way. Today, local individuals and families are supporting the program in many ways including the donation of new books in lieu of Bar/Bat Mitzvah or birthday gifts. Read on…I know that we are inspired! Who knows what may come next?

Hi Naomi – I am thrilled to tell you that in the one year since we first spoke, I have finally gotten my books project up and running, and I have to credit you for the inspiration. After reading about all the work done by people you have met through the Good People Fund, I decided that our Westport UJA/Federation needed to do more to impact our local community. With NO budget, relying on the kindness of donated time and expertise, we have secured storage space, set up a website, formed an advisory committee and are finally ready to start serving beneficiary organizations in Connecticut that are in need of books. Please visit our website…www.books2connect.org and let me know your thoughts.

I can’t thank you enough for inspiring me to make this happen. I think we can have a very positive impact and I will keep you posted as to our progress.

Yasher koach Stacy!

Naomi,

Yitz

This past Sunday was the first day of summer vacation in Israel and we were excited to receive this note from Yitz Feigenbaum, one of the forces behind Beit Hayeled, the group home where kids removed from their parents are given a warm, supportive environment in which to grow and thrive.

It was the generosity of Good People Fund donors who made this movie (and the pizza and ice cream that followed) possible. We hope the rest of the summer is just as much fun!

Think about growing old without the company of a television set…or even a decent TV with a good picture and sound. Those long days, often spent in isolation, can be even longer.

When we spoke with Dalia Abbott at Project Ezra on the Lower East Side of Manhattan last week she shared that every other Thursday a small group of their seniors come to the building for a movie. The group decides what they want to see, Netflix sends it on and everyone enjoys the film, some companionship and a drink and light snacks.

Imagine our horror when Dalia shared a picture of the television the group was using. (Unfortunately, her camera phone did not do justice to the actual photo). Despite the color and beautiful music Barbara Streisand was belting out in Hello Dolly, the group was viewing this on a small out-dated TV set. In fact, Dalia admitted that "sadly, some people have chosen not to come to the group because they can’t see the picture."

This was something we could fix and just a few minutes ago, Dalia reported back on her shopping expedition. For a truly reasonable amount of tzedakah money, Project Ezra’s seniors will ease their isolation, share some food and enjoy a good flick on a wide-screen, flat-panel TV that everyone can see.

Who knows? Maybe Movie Day will be held every week. The Good People Fund is thrilled to make this happen…maybe we will even send some popcorn!

On Friday we wrote about the new swimming program The Forgotten People Fund is running for Ethiopian kids in Netanya. We just received this update from Aida, one of the FPF’s founders who has been involved with SWIMSAFE. Clearly the Good People Fund’s decision to underwrite even more swimming lessons was a good one:

I have been having a great time with the 8 youngsters with whom we have begun the project and three are already swimmers and two are almost swimmers. When we began, three were so frightened of the water when we got into the pool and now all 8 are jumping into the water, keeping their heads underwater and, when the hour is over, we can’t get them out of the pool! I have been going into the water to tutor two of the girls who are having trouble getting their feet off the bottom of the pool and I am having a wonderful time seeing the looks on their faces when they get the idea of what it is to swim. I feel confident that at least these 8 kids will be able to SWIMSAFE.

How great it would be if even more kids could learn to swim…

Around here in New Jersey, today is the last day of school and kids are going off to camp or playgrounds for some summer fun. So, it was with particular interest that I read today’s e-newsletter from the Forgotten People Fund. FPF is a group of dedicated volunteers in Netanya who have committed to helping the very large poor Ethiopian population in that city. Knowing that they not only do good work but do it with an overhead of about 2% or less makes this a sound tzedakah investment for us.

Today’s newsletter announced a special program called SWIMSAFE which offers swimming lessons to children whose parents cannot afford to provide them. The kids receive 8 lessons, learn the safety rules and are considered beginners when they complete the professionally-run course.

The inspiration behind SWIMSAFE was the accidental drowning last summer of Avraham, a local youngster who visited one of Netanya’s beautiful beaches and drowned. FPF volunteers felt that the best way to make sure that never happened again was to start SWIMSAFE and when they recently met Avraham’s father they told him that it was his loss that inspired them to start the program. He thanked them "profusely and said he hoped that no other parent would suffer what he and his family have been through".

So – to celebrate the start of summer fun the Good People Fund is sending a check to cover 10 more kids who can learn to SWIMSAFE!