Enjoy this enlightening interview with Good People Fund founder Naomi Eisenberger on the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center’s podcast with host Bernie Furshpan.

Thank you Naomi for the shoutout on the Lemonade Fund’s work and The Good People Fund’s continued support.

The post Honorable Mention first appeared on Lemonade Fund.

 

The Jewish Link, a popular Jewish newspaper in the New York metropolitan area, covers the inspiring story of the Lemonade Fund’s work and history.

“Shari Mendes knows how essential every grant from the charity she established is to breast cancer patients. That’s because 14 years ago, she was in their shoes. In 2010 the former Teaneck resident was diagnosed with breast cancer after undergoing a routine mammogram.”

Read the article here

 

 

The post Profile of the Lemonade Fund in the Jewish Link first appeared on Lemonade Fund.

On December 3, 2024 at a gala event in Jerusalem Lemonade Fund founder and Director Shari Mendes, was one of the twelve 2023 and 2024 Sylvan Adams Nefesh B’Nefesh Bonei Zion Prize  recipients honored for their exceptional contributions to Israeli society.

The post Lemonade Fund Founder one of 12 English-speaking Immigrants Honored for Exceptional Contributions to Israeli Society first appeared on Lemonade Fund.

On December 3, 2024 at a gala event in Jerusalem Lemonade Fund founder and Director Shari Mendes, was one of the twelve 2023 and 2024 Sylvan Adams Nefesh B’Nefesh Bonei Zion Prize  recipients honored for their exceptional contributions to Israeli society.

Read the live coverage here in Ynet News.

The post Shari Mendes Receives The Sylvan Adams Nefesh B’Nefesh Bonei Zion Prize first appeared on Lemonade Fund.

Lemonade Fund founder Shari Mendes was one of three outstanding NGO founders honored on Aliya Day 2024. Israel’s National Aliyah Day commemorates the contribution of immigrants toward building Israel’s shared future. The stories of three female immigrants who chose to give back to their community and establish non-profits were featured in the Maariv daily. Each carries a personal story of connecting to Israel through a vision of strengthening and supporting the local community. Each story highlights how their Zionist dreams and ideology extends beyond personal fulfillment, to create support networks for others – children, women, and families facing challenges.

Read the article (Hebrew)

The post Shari Mendes Honored on 2024 Aliya Day first appeared on Lemonade Fund.

Lemonade Fund Executive Director Shari Mendes was a guest on Episode 58 of the popular Good People Fund podcast about her work at the Lemonade Fund. Tune in here and enjoy other episodes from leading founders and initiatives in Israel and the U.S. supported by the Good People Fund.  

The post Episode 58: Offering Financial Help and Reducing Stress for Breast Cancer Patients first appeared on Lemonade Fund.

A conversation with Founder and Executive Director Shari Mendes on International Women’s Month in a post-October 7 world. Shari is one of the speakers at the Jerusalem Post’s Women Leaders Summit on March 27, 2024

Full article: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-792915

The post Shari Mendes on International Women’s Day 2024 first appeared on Lemonade Fund.

Coach Ted Lasso Credit: UNIVERSAL TELEVISION / Album

A hit show on Apple TV features the anti-hero, Ted Lasso, a hapless soccer coach, who says,

“For me, success is not about the wins and losses. It’s about helping these young fellas be the best versions of themselves on and off the field.”

I am afraid that we have become a society that narrowly defines success. And in the process, we are at risk of losing something noble and important.

In 2011, at age 50, I started a charity. I didn’t plan to do this, but life threw me some lemons (breast cancer) so I detoured and started making lemonade, the Israel Lemonade Fund ( www.lemonadefund.org), a charity that gives emergency financial support to needy breast cancer patients while they are in treatment. Because I saw how scary it was to be very sick. I was fortunate to be stable financially, but how does one get through it if they are not? We all lose time from work when in treatment. But not everyone can survive the ordeal and feed their family or make rent. 

Over the years, this small experiment in philanthropy has grown to become a lifeline for breast cancer patients. Women who are sole providers no longer need to fear the financial repercussions of a serious illness, knowing that there is a cushion of support. A safety net to carry them through a dark time. This is true charity, tiding people over until they (hopefully) recover and return to work.

Yet, today there is more and more talk about impactful giving. People want to MAKE AN IMPACT, not give handouts. Impact philanthropy is considered charitable giving that creates lasting changes in society. If you give a man a fish, he eats for a day; If you teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.

Very nice. But what about the people who cannot fish because they are getting chemo? Or are simply too poor at the moment due to bad luck. It happens, and it could happen to any one of us. Should we ignore charities that simply care for the poor? Should we stop funding immediate needs such as food, medical treatment, and shelter, in the interest of making a longer term impact?

If we shift our priorities away from addressing immediate needs, we are transforming the basic tenet of charity into a business with only long-term wins and losses. We will not see our brothers, our sisters, our neighbors, because we are only focused on progress charts and KPIs. In an age of multitasking with the goal of ever increasing productivity, we expect our compassion to be productive as well. 

This is a mistake. Impactful giving is important. It is a way to better our world and should be encouraged. But not at the expense of compassionate giving. Realistically, poverty will always be with us. But we must not look away. Giving to the poor is simply something we must do sometimes. Even if we do not change the people we are helping. Because they are human and they need us at that moment.

Early in his presidency, Franklin Delano Roosevelt said,

“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”

At a time when we are becoming increasingly polarized, it is important not to lose sight of our humanity. We should all continue to donate to charities who work both impactfully and compassionately.

As Ted Lasso wisely said,

“Doing the right thing is never the wrong thing.”

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/is-ted-lasso-a-prophet-impact-vs-compassion/

The post Is Ted Lasso a Prophet? Impact vs Compassion first appeared on Lemonade Fund.

Full article: https://www.timesofisrael.com/spotlight/shari-mendes-on-helping-cancer-patients-in-their-time-of-need/?fbclid=IwAR2mW_0JVqnIT9FGsT4Z1hHjU5eoP4L8iRDo57hkx8F35cuBHuaQfPCOeZ8

The post Shari Mendes on helping cancer patients in their time of need first appeared on Lemonade Fund.

The post Listen to new podcast on Spotify re Founder, Shari Mendes, chosen as one of the ‘Thirty-Six” first appeared on Lemonade Fund.