Carmel Valley man to be honored at Just in Time for Foster Youth gala

Marty Goodman uses the know-how gained through his 30-year business career to help nonprofit agencies achieve their goals.

“I call myself a recovering entrepreneur,” said Goodman, a Carmel Valley resident who will be honored March 12 by a San Diego-based organization that provides services for foster youth as they transition to independent, adult lives.

Goodman will be honored at an annual fundraising gala held by Just in Time for Foster Youth, which will take place from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine.

Goodman, who now invests in and manages real estate, has started several businesses during his career. One venture grew out of his own desire as a parent to encourage and reward good behavior by his children.

The result was an iPhone app called Kid Pointz that awarded points for such things as completing homework or household chores, which could then be exchanged for rewards such as toys, or a special outing with mom or dad. At its peak, before it was purchased by a family travel company, the app had a million users, Goodman said.

Several years ago, Goodman decided to turn his experience toward the realm of philanthropy, and he joined the San Diego chapter of a group called Social Venture Partners, or SVP, which invests both money and volunteer time with charitable organizations.

Through SVP, he came in contact with Just in Time for Foster Youth, and ended up leading a three-year partnership between the two organizations, which provides both financial and volunteer assistance for Just in Time.

Among his efforts with Just in Time, said Goodman, are helping the group with planning, research and logistics, to help it expand and provide more assistance to transitioning foster youth.

Goodman and his wife, physician Ellyn Levine, have four teenagers. Goodman said he was moved to learn that many foster youths fall on hard times when they age out of the system at 18, because they often have little or no financial or family support. Some end up homeless or incarcerated.

“They have nobody to turn to,” said Goodman. “It spoke to me. I couldn’t imagine my kids with no support.”

Just in Time has a variety of programs, ranging from helping foster youths get set up in their own apartments, to emergency financial aid, to assistance with finding a job or applying for college, Goodman said.

Through Just in Time, he said, he is also paired up with a former foster youth who is now a freshman at San Diego State. “I say we are mentoring each other,” said Goodman of the young man, whom he considers part of his family.

Goodman encouraged San Diegans to consider volunteering with Just in Time, which requires a small time commitment each month.

“It’s really meeting, coaching, guiding them through a little bit, being a caring adult who wants to make a difference in their life,” Goodman said. “It’s a lot easier and more gratifying than they would ever imagine.”

When he’s not volunteering with Just in Time, Goodman is often traveling in his role as a member of SVP’s international board of directors, meeting with affiliates in such locations as India, Japan and China. This month, he was scheduled to embark on a trip to Australia and South Korea to meet with SVP affiliates.

He’s also an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego, where he teaches a real estate course in the MBA program, and in 2015 he joined the board of advisors for the Center for Peace and Commerce at the University of San Diego.