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May 21, 2008

Searching For Your Roots ….

I often refer to my friend, Diane Lipson Schilit, as "eagle eyes". She frequently forwards emails with links to interesting stories about tzedakah, creative ways to change the world, good people…the things we are excited to learn about. Today’s email from Diane was a little cryptic…"thought this would interest you…" and a link to a news article in the Washington Jewish Week.

Diane made a good guess…the news article did interest me…the more I read, the more excited I became.

The piece shared the story of Dr. Moses Albert-a D.C.-area physician who wanted very much to explore his family’s roots and their ties to Ukraine…their original home. What Dr. Albert learned was that despite the departure of a large number of Jews from Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, many still lived there, most in great poverty. How could he help? After several visits, Dr. Albert saw exactly how he could help and with his wife, came up with a plan. With the assistance of two organizations based in Kiev, children from poor families or children with no family at all, are identified and when Dr. Albert visits the city, he takes the children shopping and lets them pick out what they want and need…This is a hands-on project in the very truest sense…I am going to call Dr. Albert and find out more…stay tuned!

May 20, 2008

Passion and Mission

Maureen Kushner was in touch this morning. We have known Maureen for many years—she is a fine example of a woman-with-a-passion as well as a woman-on-a-mission….

Her passion and her mission is the Peace Through Humor Project which she started several years ago. Formerly an art teacher, Maureen originally worked in the New York City schools and has also used her considerable talents with kids who experienced terror attacks and life-threatening illnesses in Los Angeles, Oklahoma and other parts of the country.

Peace Through Humor has been Maureen’s focus for more than ten years….she has traveled throughout Israel visiting kids in Israeli, Arab, Bedouin and Druze schools where she worked with them to develop original paintings based upon the theme of war and peace. The artwork has become part of a traveling exhibit which was adopted by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has journeyed more miles than most of us will ever do in our lifetime….Maureen tells me that at the end of this year, the paintings will be on view at Ben Gurion Airport!

Despite its impressive run, the success of the exhibit has been almost entirely borne by Maureen for she not only conceived of the idea but has also personally underwritten a very large part of its costs…which include framing, captions, art supplies, shipping and much, much more.

As the show moves from its present venue-The Mizel Museum in Denver, Maureen needs an infusion of funds to help with the costs of new captions, reproductions and other incidentals…the Good People Fund has just committed to contributing to these new costs…we believe in Maureen and we believe in what she is trying to foster, despite the sometimes bleak outlook we all embrace in times such as these…

May 19, 2008

Natural Disasters and Human Disasters

This morning’s news continues to lead with the huge loss of life and infrastructure that is playing out in the tragedy of Myanmar and China…it boggles one’s mind to see the never-ending images of devastation and death…the bright news from this morning was the discovery of a young man found alive after eight days of being buried under the rubble of a power station. I cannot help but wonder how the human spirit prevails under such extreme circumstances, particularly in such oppressive environs as Myanmar.

The Good People Fund is going to try to lend a hand with both situations. In times when we do not have someone we know on the ground, who we can rely on to help us make a difference in some way, we turn to the Joint Distribution Committee, frequently referred to as " the Joint" or JDC. In fact, they have had someone on the ground in Myanmar within a few days after the cyclone hit. The JDC has experience dealing with so many different situations of this type that we are comfortable sending them our donations…we know they will help.

Two checks are going in the mail today…

May 08, 2008

Chicks and Piglets ….

Pam Koner, from Family-to-Family (http://www.family-to-family.org) just called. It is always great to catch up with Pam and hear about the latest ways she is helping to relieve poverty and hunger throughout many rural areas in this country. In the past we have partnered with Pam in unique and interesting ways-microloans, seed money for cottage industries and other ways a modest amount of money can make BIG changes for many people.

Pam spent this past weekend in Myra, Kentucky, a deeply impoverished town in the Appalachians. Myra is a community she has worked with for some time and with this visit she was able to further develop a new idea for Myra and we are excited to be working with her to make it possible… With so many people unemployed, hunger is a huge problem in Myra…despair, hunger and poverty go hand-in-hand here. Pam’s idea is to return many of Myra’s residents to the activity that so many of their parents and grandparents were involved in-farming. How great it would be if they could be given seeds, chickens, even piglets(!) and be taught how to farm…the land is rich and fertile, the basic tools needed are relatively inexpensive… add some education about farming and lessons on how to can or preserve your bounty so that you can enjoy the fruits of your labor long after the fields have been cleared and voila!…you have a plan that can work. Pam’s goal is to start small-with a pilot of maybe 4 or 5 families and then evaluate the outcome. If this works, the options are numerous…we await more word from Pam on how she is going to proceed and will definitely be part of this exciting program to help feed hungry people.

May 01, 2008

Double Your Pleasure, Double the Mitzvahs!

Aaron and Zachary Nessel’s Mom was in touch today-more checks are coming in for the twins’ Bar Mitzvah project. Aaron and Zachary decided they wanted to help feed hungry kids in Israel after they read about the savtas (grandmothers) at Beit Frankforter in Jerusalem. The savtas arrive at Beit Frankforter early each morning to prepare sandwiches for kids in nearby schools whose parents cannot afford to provide them with this mid-morning snack. Some days they make cheese, other days it might be hummous or chocolate spread or maybe even tuna. Each sandwich is bagged with a piece of fruit as well. The boys have been very successful in their efforts and as you can see from their note, they even had a chance to visit Beit Frankforter and witnessed first-hand these dedicated savtas hard at work….

For our Bar Mitzvah project we are trying to raise money for kids in Israel that cannot afford lunch at school. We visited Beit Frankforter in Jerusalem this past December, the Jerusalem Center for the Aged, and met the ‘savtas’ that make 500 sandwiches a day to send to the local schools. The project is called "A Sandwich a Day for Every Child". We hope that you can help us raise enough money to feed a child who comes to school without an afternoon sandwich. These children come from broken homes, or have parents who cannot, will not or do not have the money or make the time to prepare a lunch for their child. It costs approximately $21 per month to feed one child. Our goal is to feed at least two children for a year. In order to accomplish this we will be selling Israeli foods at the HAMC and all proceeds will go to this wonderful organization. We are also reaching out to you and others for donations to help this cause…

Yasher koach to Aaron and Zachary! This is an example that lots of other kids could follow.

April 30, 2008

Even Though There Are No More Pushcarts …

If you live in New York or the metropolitan area, you know that the Lower East Side of Manhattan is undergoing tremendous change as the area is gentrified and becomes the new "hot spot" for clubs and nightlife.

Despite the changes, tucked away on Grand Street where many of our relatives probably worked or lived, is Project Ezra (http://www.projectezra.org) …a fine, fine agency that provides many life-saving services for the remaining elders living nearby. Dalia Abbot, one of Project Ezra’s social workers was in touch today…she asked if it would be possible for us to help provide funds to purchase supermarket scrip for some of the more vulnerable elders who can barely make it through the month with their meager income. The nice thing about this program is that the small local stores, which are where most of the elders shop because it is in the neighborhood, work with Project Ezra to facilitate the project. Each elder who qualifies (and there are many who qualify but do not receive because of limited funding) receives a monthly allowance of $30 or $360 yearly. It doesn’t seem like a lot of money-particularly when you know what food costs are these days, but Dalia tells me that it really does make a difference for them. We’re going to help twelve elders with their food needs right now and hopefully will be able to do even more some time down the road…