Shep Gordon: The Supermensch Interview
OMTIMES: That’s is wonderful.
Shep Gordon: So, I do think it’s–I’m sure lucky to be Jewish or I wouldn’t be in the entertainment business. I don’t think because that’s, you know, that all happened by saying, ‘Yes, I’m Jewish.’ But, I hadn’t really thought about it between then, and maybe last year is the first time it really started to connect. I read a book recently called, The Promised Land, by Ari Shavit, I believe is his name, [an] Israeli writer. And it really started to connect some dots for me.
OMTIMES: We understand, it’s a very old and proud tradition. And it’s interesting because you started out Jewish. Along your path, you connected with the Dalai Lama, and now you [serve] on the board of directors of the Tibet Fund.
Shep Gordon: Correct.
OMTIMES: Which, to be honest, I think is absolutely awesome. We run a small non-profit ourselves, Humanity Healing International, which is where the magazine got started.
Shep Gordon: Oh, great. Great.
OMTIMES: And we always try to highlight other organizations that are making significance a change. So, I was hoping you would share a little about your work and goals with the Tibet Fund.
Shep Gordon: Yeah. The Tibet Fund The Tibet Fund is a 501(c)-3 nonprofit organization based in New York, NY. Founded in 1981 under the auspices of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, The Tibet Fund is the primary funding organization for the health, education, refugee rehabilitation, cultural preservation and economic development programs that enable Tibetans in exile and in their homeland to sustain their language, culture and national identity. Almost no money goes to overhead. I think two percent. We actually are–it’s very funny, because a lot of our funding comes from the U.S. government to do so many great things that people don’t hear about.
