Dear Friend,

In the wake of the Eaton Fire, as our community faces unimaginable loss, the outpouring of kindness from near and far reminded us that generosity knows no boundaries. Among the many donations that arrived at the Friends In Deed Food Pantry, one package stood out—not just for what it contained but for the heartfelt message inside.

The box, filled with clothing, came with a note from Chris, a former Californian who had moved to Alaska in 1975. Watching the news about the devastation, Chris’s heart broke for those who had lost everything. Though thousands of miles away, Chris felt compelled to help.

"I found your address on the Internet," Chris wrote. "Most of the items in this box are new or only been worn once. I hope this will lift spirits and give hope as people get back on their feet."

Although clothing is not an item we can regularly accept, our program staff were able to put these pieces to good use.

Stories of resilience—of our guests, our neighbors, our city—resonated with people from every corner of the country. From Alaska to Pasadena and everywhere in between, people we had never met reached out to remind us that even in the hardest times, we are never alone.

I share this story today because it is a reminder that although the fire and smoke ended many months ago, the devastation, struggle and ongoing challenges are still ever-present. At FID, even as we received a tremendous outpouring of support in the days, weeks, and months after the fire, we know the need is still there, and will continue to be there for so many in the months and years to come. Our plan is to stay in this together and continue to help in all of the ways we can, large and small. We hope that your support and generosity will continue as well.

On our end, we will continue to report back to you as best we can on the ways we are utilizing your support, just like we did when we were featured on ABC7 news this week as a beneficiary of FireAid funding.

Finally, last week we said farewell to Marty Campolo, our Deputy Director and Grants Officer, who is retiring after a decade of serving FID. When I arrived in 2017, Marty had already been here 18 months or so, and she had helped to right the FID ship that was in a serious decline; she took on major responsibilities in administration, database creation, donor development, and overall operational support.

Marty continued to be invaluable as she continued her work, even after relocating to Cincinnati. Marty was my partner, confidant, sounding board during our time together, and she has become a good friend. We will miss her, but I have made it clear that the current success of FID is in no small part to her contributions and dedication. We wish her all the best for an enjoyable retirement with her husband, children, grandchildren, her art, and her garden!

We look forward to seeing many of you on Monday for our Golfing for Good tournament, and on June 21st for Stories from the Street.

Blessings and have a lovely weekend,

Rabbi Joshua

We can only operate with your help!

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At Friends In Deed, we honor the dignity and privacy of every person we serve. The stories we share are real, but sometimes, we change names or minor details or use stock photos to protect our clients’ identities. Thanks for your compassion, understanding, and support.

Friends In Deed is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. We embrace and celebrate the spectrum of our employees’, volunteers’, and clients’ ages, color, ability or disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, neurodiversity, and other characteristics that make our employees, volunteers, and clients unique.