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The Good People Fund

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Music Mends Minds

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More than six million Americans live with Alzheimer’s. Until recently Irwin Rosenstein ( z’l) was one of them. More than a statistic, he was Carol’s beloved husband and inspiration. Seven years ago, when she saw the positive effect playing the piano had on him, she brought together the 5th Dementia Band, and the rest is history. A neurodegenerative diagnosis results in depression, anxiety and feelings of isolation for both the patient and their loved ones. Based on scientific research, MMM’s innovative therapy and musical support groups — as well as 20 bands across the US and overseas — improve quality of life for all.

During the pandemic MMM pivoted to online Zoom sessions, vastly increasing the number of participants. “What the world needs now is music. Music is medicine for the mind,” says Carol. “We can bring such happiness and hope in this moment of relative despair.”

Our funds help underwrite the cost of a music therapist.

Kaima Hukuk

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When you visit Kaima Hukuk on the shores of the Kinneret you quickly understand the isolation of this part of the country. That isolation means scarce resources for young people who have struggled to fit into more traditional classrooms. It was for this population that Efrat Noy, along with several educators and social workers, created Kaima Hukuk. Their alternative classroom attracts kids between the ages of 14- 21.

Many teens who cannot be recruited to the IDF come from similar backgrounds as the young Kaima farmers. Working with a program that facilitates national service activities, Hukuk’s empowering environment lets them fulfill this requirement as they flourish and set an example for younger participants. Our funds are directed to the construction of a packing house where young farmers assemble the CSA packages.

Just Imagine

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Abby Sondak traces so much of her personal growth back to summers she spent at overnight camp: intrepidness, confidence, independence, and appreciation of a wider world. “I wouldn’t have traded those years for anything. I’m passionate about giving others that experience,” she says.

As an educator working with inner-city youth in DC, she’s well positioned to give it to those who arguably need it the most. Just Imagine, the organization she founded, provides summer camp scholarships to underprivileged children and teens, exposing them to dramatically new environments, challenges and trajectories.

But Just Imagine goes even further, treating camp as more than a one-off experience. Instead, it’s the start of a long-term relationship that includes life-skills and college-prep workshops, and even campus tours … all creating paths for successful journeys through life, for those starting from the back.

Our funds underwrite scholarships for summer camp, and some administrative expenses.

 

 

Nivcharot: Haredi Women’s Movement

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It all began with a Facebook campaign. Frustrated by the lack of women’s representation in the Israeli government’s religious parties, Esty Shushan discovered she was not alone and founded Nivcharot (No Voice – No Vote), the first and only organization of its kind in Israel. Nivcharot’s advocacy training and leadership seminars encourage Haredi women to “find their voice” in public, social and political life. As one participant shares, “I want to be a part of a people, a community…I also acquired a community of women like me, who aspire to do good in their sector and beyond.”

Nivcharot raises awareness and allows for open conversations on once-taboo topics such as divorce, birth control and arranged marriage. Despite an ever-changing government and Covid, Esty and the women she has inspired continue to be a driving force for change.

Our funds help underwrite the cost of the women’s symposium.

Achlah – The Heyanut Center

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“I strive to put myself in someone else’s shoes and to see every human being as a whole. … It is important for every person, regardless of their disabilities, to live a full life in the community, together with all of us.”

For more than 10 years Johanan Flusser worked in a school that catered to kids with serious mental challenges. There, he saw the complex problems these kids and their families faced — including being caught in a system bogged down by bureaucracy, insensitivity, and frequent misdiagnosis. After seeing the downward spiral this often caused, Johanan started Achlah-The Heyanut Center, the only multi-disciplinary institution in Israel that provides hope and solutions to families in crisis, especially those with special needs children. Johanan and his team work without bureaucracy to provide personal assessment and guidance, directing each child and family to suitable resources and a better quality of life.

Our funds underwrite the program’s modest administrative expenses.

Connections Mentor

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“He was the only adult who really knew me anymore and the only one who wasn’t paid to care about me,” says Tommy, a teenager in the child welfare / juvenile court system. “He helped me open my first bank account … taught me how to go grocery shopping and helped me learn about health insurance and other adult stuff.” When Paul Muratore founded Connections, Tommy’s words were exactly what he’d dreamed of.

Paul, a longtime mentor to at-risk teens, retired in 2016 and followed his dream to start a program for kids just like Tommy: kids who’ve aged out of the foster care or welfare system and are in need of guidance and friendship. Since then, more than 130 youths have established deep relationships of a year or more with their mentors, even throughout the pandemic. Together, they’ve proven that when someone cares, anything is possible.

Our funds underwrite administrative expenses.