While visiting last week with Anne and David Silverman and Aida Miller, founders of The Forgotten People Fund in Israel we learned about the very important work this all-volunteer group does on behalf of Netanya’s large Ethiopian population. We even had a chance to see first-hand the incredible changes they made possible at the elementary school where a mostly Ethiopian student body studies. It was heartening to know that even though FPF is working with 50% less funding this year, they are still making an impact.

During lunch, we heard about the scholarship they had just provided to a young Ethiopian woman who is studying nursing at the nearby Laniado Hospital and thought that this could be a very meaningful place for some of our tzedakah money. When we learned that $1400 was what was needed to allow one student to complete a year of training we immediately committed funding and within a few days learned that a young woman whose family had arrived in Israel in 1996 would continue her studies. Ruthie, our young student, comes from a single parent family with a Mother who is too ill to work. She has raised her family on government assistance and now one of her children will become a professional nurse…breaking the cycle of poverty once and for all. An interesting comment shared at our lunch was that it is generally agreed that Ethiopian nurses are particularly compassionate and gentle, making this a fine profession for those who express interest. We were happy to be able to help.

Coincidentally, at the same time we learned about a second young Ethiopian woman, this one coming from a single parent family as well, but studying to become a teacher. While scholarships were providing for the actual education costs, "S", was having a difficult time staying in school since she had very limited funds for incidentals and other living expenses. When we heard that she was considering dropping out of school we committed three months of living expenses so that "S" could remain in school and achieve her goal to become a teacher.

We are excited about both of these tzedakah opportunities and how they might help young Ethiopians become self-sufficient, productive members of Israeli society.

On April 7 we shared the story of Moti*, a 75-year old man, paralyzed and blind in one eye, who had the opportunity to take part in a dance program if he could get a wheelchair that was in better condition than his present dilapidated one. Within minutes of learning about this need, the Good People Fund committed the modest funds and Moti was on the way to getting his weekly lessons.

As we had expected, Linda Mosek, the dedicated head of CLICK, an Israeli program that serves the elders in Hod HaSharon, sent along a photo of Moti’s first lesson.

Enjoy! It was one of the best uses of our tzedakah dollars!

For Jeremy Coleman and his wife Pamela Becker, a young Israeli couple with three children, life was turned upside down three years ago when Jeremy was diagnosed with Stage 4 stomach cancer. In addition to fear and anxiety, the side-effects of treatment and the constant travel to receive new opinions, there was that ever-present worry about how the illness affected their three young children. Friends and family stepped in to help but even that could not make up for the very real trauma enveloping the family. When the couple’s oldest child mentioned her wish to have a friend who might also have a Dad with cancer it took many months to find a youngster living with a similar situation and that relationship proved to be very helpful. After a year of difficult treatment, it was apparent that Jeremy would not survive his disease, but before he died he and Pamela developed the idea of Jeremy’s Circle, an organization focused on bringing together children living with cancer in their families.

In our meeting today with Pamela we learned how important the play-dates and special fun days are to these kids and their families. At their latest event held during the Pesach season, kids enjoyed the activities of a local ecology center while the parents who attended joined together in a discussion with a psychologist, himself a widower who had brought his own kids.

In addition to these activities, Jeremy’s Circle also sponsors a mentorship program for students on three university campuses. Students, many of whom have grown up with cancer in their own families, are paired with local children and provide a warm and supportive friendship.

We learned from Pamela that there are more than 5000 young families in Israel living with cancer so we know that the importance of the services this young organization provides and the Good People Fund has committed funding for fun days as well as the expenses associated with the mentoring program.

Spending time with Pamela is an affirmation that life goes on and from tragedy good things can come. We are excited about our work with Jeremy’s Circle and hope to continue to help them as they grow.

We were incredibly lucky to be able to attend the very moving Yom HaShoah ceremony at Yad Vashem this week. It is something everyone should be able to experience-at once both sad and hopeful.

What made the entire Yom HaShoah experience here even more meaningful was our surprise to find an article on the front page of the Jerusalem Post which featured the story of Leopold, a Shoah survivor who was helped by Darla Oz, founder of House to House, one of the programs we work with here in Israel. We have often written about Darla’s work in Jerusalem, particularly the organization’s efforts to help the elderly remaining Shoah survivors who live well below the poverty line, struggling with physical and emotional issues that are sometimes the result of the conditions under which they lived during the war.

We are proud of what we have been able to contribute to Darla’s efforts and reading Leopold’s story in the Post on Yom HaShoah proved just how important they are. Read on – it is a sad but moving story…

http://www.jpost.com/ArtsAndCulture/Entertainment/Article.aspx?id=172925

Dear Naomi,
How are you? How was your Passover?
I was wondering if you might be able to help us with one of our elders who
attends the day care center for disabled elders. His name is Moti*. He is 75 years old and paralyzed from the waist down and blind in one eye.
We are interested in taking him to dance classes in his wheel chair, as part of our sports initiative.
We have a volunteer dancer who will be his partner. The main problem is his
old dilapidated wheel chair.

This email arrived at about 3:30 this morning from Linda Mosek, a social worker and head of CLICK, an Israeli organization that provides social services for elderly residents in the city of Hod HaSharon. We admire Linda and her professionalism and when we can help solve difficult situations involving her elders, we will.

This latest request was special; we could not help but write back immediately (It had been a sleepless night here) and tell her our check would go right out. For under $150, Moti will have a new wheelchair in which to spin around during his upcoming dance lessons! (and it all transpired in but 15 minutes of email exchanges) Who could say no to this?

We promise a picture when the actual lessons begin. It will be priceless.

*His name has been changed.

Since I picked up the sad message from my voicemail last night, so many images have flashed through my mind. The message was short – Clara Hammer, known, no doubt, by thousands of schoolchildren here in America as the Chicken Lady, has died, just weeks shy of what would have been her 100th birthday.

Clara was a legend. Her tzedakah story was shared in classrooms, news articles, pulpits…just about every possible venue you could imagine….And what a story it was. Many years ago, while visiting her butcher, Mr. Hacker, Clara witnessed him handing over a bag of chicken bones and skin to a young girl. Commenting to him that the girl must own many cats, the butcher replied that the bag’s contents were actually for the family to use to prepare a Shabbat cholent. He went on to explain that the father and mother were not well and had not worked in a very long time. Though he had extended credit to them, he could no longer do so. Clara was appalled that anyone would have to eat such garbage and instructed Mr. Hacker to give the girl two chickens and a half kilo of chopped meat weekly so that they could have a proper Shabbat. No one was to know the identity of the donor.

What began with that one selfless act in 1969, continued (albeit with the help of her family in the past few years) until her death yesterday. When I last visited Clara about 13 months ago, it was clear that the fire and passion that had once prevailed was diminishing. The scene was the same – an apartment where pictures of dozens of family members (I’ve lost count of how many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and I think even one or two great-great grandchildren, she had) vied for space with the many, many chickens – stuffed, musical, dancing, given to her by admirers from all over the world. They, in turn, shared space with the many beautiful certificates and awards Clara earned from her mitzvah work. Clara’s advanced "computerized" records still sat nearby – file boxes filled with index cards, each listing donors’ names, addresses and every one of their donations. A donation to Clara’s Chicken Fund got you a beautifully handwritten thank you letter – even with no professional fund-raising training, Clara knew how to get you back for "recurring donations." On the table were that week’s bills from the famous butcher, Mr. Hacker, and we heard a recounting of the thousands of shekels she had sent him for the past month’s food he handed out on her behalf. Still the proper hostess, we were treated to freshly-squeezed orange juice (from Clara’s local "juiceman"), delicious roasted Israeli almonds and a plate of Bisli. But advancing years were taking their toll and no longer was Clara singing or dancing as she always did, and that was not lost on me as I said good-bye, perhaps for the last time.

And so – this Friday morning as many are preparing for Shabbat, I envision a beautiful woman, now in some other space perhaps, continuing her work and fulfilling her vision that no one should go without a proper Shabbat meal. Rest in peace, Clara. You have left a legacy that has touched more people than we will ever know.