Join us in our mission to extend hope, dignity, and compassion.
Kindness Initiative will be closed Friday September 11 in observance of Rosh Hashanah. Shana Tova!
Behind closed doors in our own Jewish community, families are quietly struggling in ways that would surprise many of us. Through acts of loving kindness, our concierge case management, the kindnessG’MACH distribution center providing essential items at no cost, an army of loving volunteers, and the generosity of dedicated donors, ensure no Jewish family ever faces their hardest moment alone.
To name a dedicated space is an expression of commitment, of communal responsibility, of the kind of philanthropy that outlasts a single gift. Your name becomes associated with a place where lives are steadied, confidence is rebuilt, and personalized guidance helps families move toward lasting stability. We invite you to join this group of visionary San Diego philanthropists and put YOUR name where your heart is.
Sharon & David Wax
Marjorie Mopper
Wendy & Harold Frysh
Anonymous
Anonymous
Hilary & Selwyn Isakow
Leslie & Shlomo Caspi
Hilary & Selwyn Isakow
“The recent survey/study of the San Diego Jewish community made me aware of the number of our local Jewish population was suffering from financial insecurity. I have supported other organizations that have served the overall vulnerable population of San Diego, but now, I felt compelled to focus on the local Jewish population. In the past, I didn’t realize the need within our Jewish community and I feel now, more than ever, Jews need to support Jewish causes.”
“We believe it is the obligation of every member of the Jewish community to take care of Jews in need, and we are proud to do our part. Supporting the work of the kindnessG’MACH means helping bring stability to families in our community while ensuring that assistance is always given with dignity, compassion, and respect and without stigma.“
“Our family has always believed that books open worlds and spark imagination—which is why we sponsor this section at kindnessG’MACH. We know firsthand how a single book can change a person’s perspective and sense of possibility. Every Jewish community member deserves access to books and toys regardless of their circumstances, and having this library here means anyone who walks through these doors can experience the gift of literature.“
| Computer System | Claire & David Ellman |
| Security System | Lisa & Brad Slavin |
| Back Door | Julie Abrams & Bruce Abrams |
| Conference Room | Patti & Steve Mizel |
| Donation Door | Miriam Norton & Alex Stolarski |
| Front Door | Hilary & Selwyn Isakow |
| Welcome Area | Aaron Feldman |
| Welcome Room | Suzanne & Brian Marcus |
To learn more about the available opportunities, click here:
Every gift helps provide safety, dignity, and hope for Jewish families in need.
There’s a question we ask ourselves every morning at Kindness Initiative:
“How can we show more kindness?”
Because of you, we answered that question 395% more than ever before.
Behind every number is a name, a face, and a story that matters. When you give, you ensure that no Jewish family in our community faces crisis alone.
Your support meant case managers making home visits, job coaches practicing interviews until offers came through, and financial literacy sessions that changed family trajectories for generations.
Kindness isn’t just what we do. It’s who we become together.
Keren-Dee Hamui,
Executive Director
At Kindness Initiative, personal dignity means recognizing and reinforcing the inherent worth, individuality, and potential of every person we serve. Poverty, crisis, homelessness, or dependence on others can gradually erode confidence, independence, and a person’s belief in their own ability to move forward. We therefore seek not merely to provide assistance, but to restore a sense of agency, self-respect, hope, and control. Members and Clients are treated as individuals with strengths, preferences, choices, and aspirations not as problems to be solved or recipients of charity. Through respectful relationships, personalized support, meaningful choice, and opportunities to participate in their own path forward, we strive to ensure that every interaction communicates: you matter, your voice matters, you are capable, and your circumstances do not define your worth. Ultimately, dignity is restored when a person begins to see themselves not through the lens of what they lack or what has happened to them, but with renewed confidence in who they are and what they can become.
At Kindness Initiative, restoring personal dignity is not only an important outcome in itself; it is also an essential step toward rebuilding the confidence, agency, and sense of possibility that enable Members to actively participate in the tasks and decisions necessary to achieve their individually defined and aspirational goals.
Just as we expect our staff, volunteers, and service provider organizations to abide by basic civil interpersonal behavior consistent with Jewish values, we expect our Members to:
Not adhering to any of the above repeatedly may result in termination of membership privileges.
