Episodes

There are an estimated 30,000 asylum seekers in Israel today … men, women and children, mostly from Africa, who’ve risked their lives to escape adverse conditions and now await legal status in Israel or elsewhere — anywhere that will welcome them. But for now, they live in substandard conditions, invisible to many Israelis while the government threatens deportation. Rabbi Levi Lauer, Founding Executive Director of Atzum, and Julie Fisher, Founder and Director of the Consortium for Israel and the...

For youth at risk – specifically teens and young adults with past or current contact with the child welfare or juvenile justice systems – having a mentor can be a tipping point toward positive self-worth and a promising future. That’s what Connections – a Good People Fund grantee – makes possible in NYC and Westchester County to the north, pairing volunteer mentors with youth needing positive role models. Connections Founder Paul Muratore speaks with GPF Executive Director Naomi Eisenberger abou...

Flip through the online pages of jGirls Magazine for a deep dive into compelling issues – from self-identity to social pressures to protest – created by self-identifying Jewish girls aged 13 to 19. jGirls – a Good People Fund grantee – is the brainchild of Elizabeth Mandel, a New York-based documentarian, writer, and community activist who created the multi-media platform to elevate and empower critical voices, often marginalized. She speaks about her vision and impact, and the challenges of bei...

Jacob Sztokman was on a business trip to Mumbai when he came across abject need and horrendous conditions in the city’s slums. The exposure shook him up to a point of no return. He gave up his career in high-tech to establish Gabriel Project Mumbai – a Good People Fund grantee – to improve lives for individuals and families in India’s challenged urban areas and outlying villages. To Learn more go to: goodpeoplefund.org

There’s a fitness club in Maryland that stands apart from your usual corner gym. At SPIRIT Club, individuals with physical and developmental disabilities are lifting weights, doing aerobics, and working with personal trainers in an environment that prizes diversity, respect and inclusion. SPIRIT (Social-Physical-Interactive-Respectful-Integrated-Teamwork) Club Founder Jared Ciner talks about how his work as a fitness instructor and with individuals with special needs coalesced into SPIRIT Club a...

The Good People Fund in partnership with its grantees, helps to improve the lives and trajectories of Aspiring Americans – refugees, victims of human trafficking, and others – seeking safety, community, and opportunity despite enormous challenges. In this episode, Good People Fund Executive Director Naomi Eisenberger speaks with four change makers in this realm, who describe their unique experiences, observations, and approaches to uplifting newcomers seeking better lives for themselves and thei...

The Good People Fund visits with three of our change makers in Detroit. Each draws on intense personal journeys as they work to uplift and give hope to youth at risk – in a city once written off, but now benefiting from the creative visions of social entrepreneurs. Join Good People Fund Executive Director Naomi Eisenberger as she speaks with Sherelle Hogan, Founder of Pure Heart Foundation, David Silver, Founder of Detroit Horse Power, and Courtney Smith, Founder of Detroit Phoenix Center.

Walk through the inner city and other challenged areas and you’ll see a different food landscape than across town: fewer grocery stores, more fast-food places, and unhealthy choices. FEAST (Food – Education – Access – Support – Together), an LA-based organization supported by The Good People Fund, is changing that reality. FEAST Executive Director Dana Rizer describes how. To Learn more go to: goodpeoplefund.org

Ten Gav (Hebrew, “covering someone’s back”) uses a crowd-funding model and web platform to match donors with Israeli individuals and families facing hardship. Ten Gav is a Good People Fund grantee and its two founders, Naomi Brounstein and Vivi Mann, describe how technology and human connection can uplift lives and promote the Jewish practice of Tzedakah. To Learn more go to: goodpeoplefund.org

College campuses are unpredictable environments for Jewish students, with rising levels of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. TribeTalk – a Good People Fund grantee – prepares and empowers students to navigate through it. We’re with TribeTalk Co-Founders Michelle Black, Robin Friedman, and Jude Sydney … along with Emmet Klein, a college student and TribeTalk Fellow. To Learn more go to: goodpeoplefund.org

Terrorists killed his brother, yet Yuval Roth turned his grief into hope. Road to Recovery has a corps of Israeli volunteers driving Palestinians from border crossings to Israeli hospitals for critical care. On the way, friendships form and mistrust falls away. We speak with Yuval and a colleague, Eli Sahar, to discuss the origins of Road to Recovery, its impact, and Good People Fund’s support. To Learn more go to: goodpeoplefund.org

David Baskin is CEO/Founder of Ani Shlishi, a Good People Fund grantee in Israel working with at-risk youth and instilling in them confidence, self-esteem, purpose, and community, by putting them to work in two used clothing stores. David describes how his personal journey brought him to a place of giving back and helping to uplift this vulnerable population. To Learn more go to: goodpeoplefund.org

In a cafe in Be’er Sheva, Israel, The Good People Fund visited friends from Inbar, a grantee empowering Israelis with physical and/or developmental challenges to achieve. At our table is Shoshi Margolin, Inbar’s passionate executive director, and Braha Cohen, one of Inbar’s inspiring community members. Their stories shout strength, determination and evolution. Grab a beverage, join us! To Learn more go to: goodpeoplefund.org

We speak with Good People Fund Executive Director Naomi Eisenberger about the impact of the pandemic on GPF and its community of grantees, and how GPF is responding with new initiatives to help those on the frontlines, and families and individuals struggling with illness, economic insecurity, and more. To Learn more go to: goodpeoplefund.org

We’re at Kaima Nahalal, an organic farm in Israel where teenage girls – who have dropped out of school or are otherwise at risk – gain confidence by learning, working, and creating. Merav Carmi describes how her vision for her family farm evolved and how it’s changing lives for those finding purpose there. Kaima Nahalal is a grantee organization of The Good People Fund. To Learn more go to: goodpeoplefund.org

We’re in Tel Aviv speaking with Pamela Becker, Co-Founder of Jeremy’s Circle, a Good People Fund grantee serving Israeli kids with cancer in their families by creating opportunities for them to have fun and community. Pamela’s own family history was the impetus for Jeremy’s Circle, and she describes her transformation from wife and mom, to visionary impact maker. To Learn more go to: goodpeoplefund.org

The Good People Fund is helping residents of Puerto Rico recover from recent waves of crippling earthquakes and the resulting destruction and displacement. We’re talking with Erika Vélez, Founder of Puerto Rico Lit and GPF’s eyes and ears on the island. To Learn more go to: goodpeoplefund.org

We’re at Emma’s Torch restaurant in Brooklyn, where refugees, asylees, and survivors of human trafficking learn culinary arts so they can find futures of economic security and community. We speak with Kerry Brodie, Founder of Emma’s Torch – a Good People Fund grantee. To Learn more go to: goodpeoplefund.org

Into our studio comes Max Levitt, Founder/CEO of Leveling the Playing Field, a Good People Fund grantee rescuing used sports equipment so that youth in underprivileged communities can fully participate in sports programs. To Learn more go to: goodpeoplefund.org

We’re visiting José Valenzuela, Founder of Boston Youth Wrestling – a Good People Fund grantee organization – about how his experience with the sport as a youth fueled his passion to bring it to those in under-resourced communities in and around Boston. BYW’s Executive Director, Bior Guigni, joins the talk. To Learn more go to: goodpeoplefund.org

We’re at Metuchen High School in New Jersey, where students are working to end child slavery in Ghana under the leadership of their social studies teacher, Evan Robbins, Founder/CEO of Breaking the Chain Through Education, a Good People Fund grantee organization. To Learn more go to: goodpeoplefund.org

The Good People Fund is sending essentials to migrant individuals and families detained in indescribable conditions along the US southern border. GPF Executive Director Naomi Eisenberger speaks with human aid partners about the Jewish imperative to act. To Learn more go to: goodpeoplefund.org

We talk with Fran Held, Founder of Mitzvah Circle Foundation, a Pennsylvania non-profit organization and Good People Fund grantee that provides donated and purchased goods like clothing, children’s books, toiletries, housewares and more to individuals and families in crisis. To Learn more go to: goodpeoplefund.org

While in DC, we stopped in to talk with change maker Abby Sondak, Founder of Just Imagine. With support from The Good People Fund, her organization is giving summer overnight camping experiences to disadvantaged inner-city youth and leveraging the moment to prepare them for success in college. To Learn more go to: goodpeoplefund.org