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You are here: Home / Press Releases / TIKKUN OLAM GROWS IN APPALACHIA

TIKKUN OLAM GROWS IN APPALACHIA

There was a massive truck of donated food to unload, a long and winding ramp for a man with multiple handicaps to be built, and structures to fix, paint and spruce up – among other projects. Plus, just visiting with people.

So when nearly two dozen Good People Fund (GPF) volunteers – many of them from Congregation B’nai Israel in Millburn, NJ, and others from Ohio and California and other states – arrived in McRoberts, KY, earlier this summer, the to-do list was set, teams were created, and the work began.

This was tikkun olam of the down and dirty sort – an elbow greased and sweaty few days of good works to honor and practice the sacred Jewish value of repairing the world – a guiding GPF principle.

“We are trying to make a little corner of the world slightly better, sooner, for some of these people,” said Peter Freimark, a volunteer from Cleveland and a GPF Board member.

For sure, this town of about 1,000 people – in the heart of Appalachia – suffers the sort of poverty that marks the greater region but is often overlooked.  Walk the town and unemployment, economic stagnation and lack of social services and opportunity appear not as distant statistics, but rather as human faces.

“We are all familiar with urban poverty, but rural poverty is a completely different type of animal,” said Naomi Eisenberger, GPF Executive Director and Co-Founder.

“Every trip to McRoberts has given me and all of our committed volunteers greater understanding of the unique types of problems that affect people living there.  Beyond the physical things that we leave behind, the fact that we care and come back year after year is an indication that we recognize that these people are there and that we care about them.”

Susie Duncan, a 14-year resident of McRoberts and the designated point person there for GPF, described the relationship between the volunteers and the town as unique – a human-to-human connection in its most benevolent form.

“What they do here means more than they could even imagine,” she said. “Most families here live paycheck to paycheck, trying to figure out whether to feed their children or pay the electric bill. To realize there are people in the world who care about us and our well being gives hope to a very cut-off community.”

It was into nearly every room and corner of Duncan’s house and a side shed that volunteers transferred a 53-foot trailer load of canned food and other non-perishable items, plus household goods and personal hygiene products.   Duncan will distribute the items through schools, churches and community centers, and also deliver directly to elderly and homebound people in McRoberts.

Across town, teams of GPF volunteers were immersed in other projects.

At one home, a lengthy ramp began to link a house steeped on a hill with the road below, easing the way for a wheelchair-bound man to get from his home and circulate within the community.  Members of Congregation Shaarai Shomayim, a synagogue in Lancaster, PA, later finished the job.

At another home, volunteers painted a badly faded structure for a recently widowed woman with no resources to make improvements.  “This might brighten her outlook because there isn’t a whole lot of brightness in her life right now,” Duncan said.

This summer marked the eighth year that GPF, in partnership with Congregation B’nai Israel, brought a volunteer corps to McRoberts.  The delegation grows each year, and many participants – ranging from high school students to seniors – have made the trip numerous times.

For Jesse Moehlman, 24, a University of Michigan graduate and member of Congregation B’nai Israel, this year marked a fifth trip to the Kentucky town.

“What keeps me going is the realization that this is meaningful work and it is making a real difference,” he said. “The town and the people are very familiar to me at this point, and I feel a visceral connection and sense of responsibility there.  It’s very important to me.”

In an opinion piece in the New Jersey Jewish News this summer, Rabbi Steven Bayar of Congregation B’nai Israel summed up how tikkun olam drives this annual service project in McRoberts, and indeed the broader reach of GPF.

“Hope and respect for others are the greatest gifts you can give,” he wrote. “That is a lesson sorely needed in these times.”

Duncan agreed.  “When you feel so isolated and that no one cares or is looking, and then The Good People Fund group comes in here and does things for people they don’t know, it restores faith in the goodness of people and what they can do.   If more people did this, the world would be a much better place.”

 

 

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ROSH HASHANAH BEGINS SEPTEMBER 22ND!

Good People Fund Rosh Hashanah e-Card 2024

Wish your friends and loved ones a Shana Tova U’Metukha (a good and sweet year) with a GPF Rosh Hashanah e-card. Send holiday wishes and support our Good People at the same time. Quick, easy, and impactful.

 

Purim is coming on March 13th …

And we have a no-calorie, no-stress holiday plan for you!

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Send your friends and family Purim greetings guaranteed to make everyone feel good by giving tzedakah in such a meaningful way.

It’s Here!
GPF Journal of Good 2024

Our Journal of Good 2024 could not have been published at a better time. As we struggle with so much–a war, widespread hatred and political dysfunction, its stories of visionaries driving positive change… and those of individuals, families and communities whose lives are altered for the better, will move you.


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November 17

The Good People Fund (un)conference

Join us virtually, Sunday November 17th, 7:00pm to 9:30pm Eastern for The Good People Fund Celebratory Program. Featuring … Ruth Messinger (Global Ambassador of the American Jewish World Service), John Beltzer (Songs of Love) and Naomi Eisenberger (Co-founder and Executive Director of the The Good People Fund). You won’t want to miss it!

 

You can still send a New Year’s Greeting

Good People Fund Rosh Hashanah e-Card 2024

Wish your friends and loved ones a Shana Tova U’Metukha (a good and sweet year) with a GPF Rosh Hashanah e-card. Send holiday wishes and support our Good People at the same time. Quick, easy, and impactful.

 

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Purim is coming on March 23rd …

And we have a no-calorie, no-stress holiday plan for you!

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Send your friends and family Purim greetings guaranteed to make everyone feel good by giving tzedakah in such a meaningful way.

GPF Live From Israel!

Sunday, March 3rd @ 12 PM Eastern Standard Time

Join Naomi, Julie and three of our visionary Israeli grantees for a special live Zoom event:

Good People Fund — Live from Israel!

Find out how they’re meeting new challenges since Oct. 7, while staying true to their passions and missions of elevating good and uplifting the communities they serve. And ask your questions!

Our family in Israel is hurting,
can you help?

There has been significant loss of life, horrific injuries and deep, deep trauma from an unexpected attack on its soil and from the unprecedented kidnapping of so many civilians and soldiers. We are working hard to uncover needs on the ground that we can meet and help facilitate in our typical manner—person to person.

We have spoken with several grantees and the sentiments we hear over and over again are disbelief and shock … but more than anything, resolve. They foresee that many more lives will be lost and that life, as they knew it, has been forever altered.

As we have learned from earlier wars, the situation is fluid and each day new needs will be identified. We have joined together with two grantees and, conferring with local social workers, are developing a plan to assist at least twelve families directly impacted by the war, as well as families of kidnapped victims.

We would be grateful if you would be a part of our efforts to help in the way that we do best … our very personal way.

Our Spring Sale Has Started

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It’s Here!
GPF Journal of Good 2022

Our Journal of Good 2022 has just been published and it’s filled with stories of visionaries driving positive change… and those of individuals, families and communities whose lives are altered for the better.


Journal of Good 2022 cover

Empower More Good

ROSH HASHANAH BEGINS SEPTEMBER 25th!

Wish your friends and loved ones a Shana Tova U’Metukha (a good and sweet year) with a GPF Rosh Hashanah e-card. Send holiday wishes and support our Good People at the same time. Quick, easy, and impactful.

 

In Their Words: The Pandemic

Read what our grantees are saying and how they’re responding to COVID-19 with the help of Good People Fund donors.

How the Pandemic is Changing Their World

It's Here!

GPF 2021 Annual Report

Our 2021 Annual Report has just been published and it’s filled with moving stories about ordinary people who have done extraordinary things to make our world a better place.

We need it now, more than ever … Read on!

Hanukkah begins November 28th, about the time we gather for Thanksgiving.

Send a few ecards to family and friends, and do some good at the same time.

 

We know you’re thinking beach, relaxation, barbecues and summer fun, but…

Labor Day will usher in the New Year so while you are still relaxing, think about all of your friends and family you want to wish a sweet, healthy holiday.

 

Good People Talk! is Everywhere!

Now you can subscribe to our monthly podcast — Good People Talk! — on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, iHeartRADIO, and Podcast Index. Please subscribe, share, and comment on your favorite podcast network!

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April 11, 7:30 pm Eastern

How Good People Help Aspiring Americans Succeed

Join us for our second Good People Talk Live! event – Meet four of GPF’s Good People and learn about their unique experiences, observations, and approaches to uplifting newcomers seeking better lives for themselves and their families.

Our guests include:

  • Kristen Bloom, Founder & Exec. Director, Refugee Assistance Alliance
  • Sloane Davidson, Founder & CEO, Hello Neighbor
  • Kari Miller, Founder & Exec. Director, International Neighbors
  • Dr. Eva Moya, Assoc. Professor, Dept. of Social Work, The University of Texas at El Paso

Save the Date!

April 11, 7:30 pm Eastern

Don’t miss our second Good People Talk Live! event – as we explore front line challenges facing aspiring Americans across the country. Meet Kari Miller, Founder of International Neighbors; Sloane Davidson, Founder of Hello Neighbor; Kristen Bloom, Founder of Refugee Assistance Alliance; and Dr. Eva Moya, Associate Professor at University of Texas: El Paso, four women dedicated to helping newcomers adjust to their new home. Look for registration information on our website shortly.

Register now!

March 14, 7:30 pm Eastern

How Good People Help Detroit’s Youth Succeed

Join us for our first-ever Good People Talk Live! event – as we explore challenges facing inner city youth in Detroit, and how three of our GPF grantee organizations there are instilling hope.

Our guests include:

  • Courtney Smith, Founder of Detroit Phoenix Center
  • Sherelle Hogan, Founder of Pure Heart Foundation
  • David Silver, Founder of Detroit Horse Power

Save the Date!

March 14, 7:30 pm Eastern

Join us for our first-ever Good People Talk Live! event – as we explore challenges facing inner city youth in Detroit, and how three of our GPF grantee organizations there are  breaking cycles and instilling a sense of future. Our guests include Courtney Smith, Founder of Detroit Phoenix Center; Sherelle Hogan, Founder of Pure Heart Foundation; and David Silver, Founder of Detroit Horse Power. Look for registration information on our website shortly.

GPF 2020 Annual Report

Let stories from our Good People inspire you during these difficult days

During a year in which a pandemic is upending our already broken world—creating and revealing untold & unimaginable human, social, and economic challenges—our Good People Fund family has arguably never been so critical.

Our 2020 Annual Report reflects that truth and the immense nourishment and salve that our visionary grantees are bringing to their communities in the US, Israel, and elsewhere around the world.

2020 Annual Report

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    • By Program Focus
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    • By Organization
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    • Acknowledgement Cards
    • Planned Giving
    • Charitable Solicitation Disclosure Statement
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    • For Jewish Educators
      • Our Good Service Model
      • Grab ‘n’ Go Lessons
      • GPF Core Curriculum
      • B’nai Mitzvah Service Projects
      • Archival Materials
      • Ziv Tzedakah Curriculum
    • For Students
      • Tips for Good Service Projects
      • Other Resources
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      • 10th Anniversary
    • Grantee Focus
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