Gordon Haas presents the Community Service Award to Supermarket Sweep organizers, from left, Lisa Israel, Elyse Deutsch, and Janice Weinberg at the Central federation’s annual meeting.
Photo by Elaine Durbach
Annual honors
The following people were honored at the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey annual meeting:
- President’s Award — Michael Kurtz
- Joseph Weinstein Award for Financial Resource Development — Geralyn Lichtenstein
- Volunteer of the Year Award — Steven Karp
- Young Leadership Award — Stacie Friedman
- Rabbinic Award — Rabbi Douglas Sagal
- Community Service Award — Janice Weinberg, Elyse Deutsch, and Lisa Israel on behalf of the Social Action Committee
- Acharai Recognition Honor — Randy Belfer, Elyse Deutsch, and Bernice Fleischmann
- Staff anniversary recognition: Gene Lewis, 30 years; Pat Hazel, 25 years; Amy Cooper, 15 years; Jessica Mehlman, 10 years; and Kim Farrell, five years
Advertisement
June 18, 2009
This might have been one of the toughest years ever faced by the federation, community leaders told those gathered on June 15 for the annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey. But, they said, if ever there was a time to step up and champion the causes you care about, this is it.
To encourage community participation, a town-hall format was used. After the installation of new officers and presentation of awards, the floor was opened to questions. Answers — and some questions — came from those on the podium: federation president Gerald Cantor, financial resources development chair Julie Singer, and executive vice president Stanley Stone, as well as from members of the audience.
The turnout was smaller than expected — around 120 — but by the end, a number of people declared it the best annual meeting they had attended.
Cantor set the ball rolling with the inevitable question: “Why was this year different from all the other years we’ve had at federation?”
In his opening remarks, he mentioned that it has been one of the toughest ever. He added later that the leadership had ensured that no promises were broken and all funding commitments have been honored, but the organization is facing unprecedented demands. For the first time, he said, among those turning to federation for help are people who were donors in the past. “This has affected everyone,” he said.
Stone said the federation “has been stable as a rock in these very turbulent times.”
The year started with a coincidence that was both horrifying and reassuring: The opening event of the current campaign took place in September on the day the stock market began its plunge. Stone said, “We were all somewhat shell-shocked, but there was not one decrease in pledges. That set the tone for the year. At all our events, attendance has been the same as last year’s or has exceeded it, whether they were fund-raisers or not.”
The Women’s Campaign’s Main Event in May, he said, drew the largest turnout in recent years. The same was true of the Builders and Allied Trades event, despite the fact that many of the participants have been hard-hit by the downturn.
Stone said, “We had gotten used to doing everything with money. Now is the time for esprit de corps,” to compensate for the financial loss with passion and teamwork. “It could be a very healthy dynamic,” he said.
Singer seconded Stone’s view that this is a time for volunteers to take up the causes they feel most passionate about. She cited an example from March: the Supermarket Sweep food drive, an event where parents worked with children to replenish the Jewish Family Service of Central NJ’s kosher food pantry. They gathered $6,000 worth of food at the ShopRite in Clark, enough to meet the pantry’s needs for two and a half months.
Responding to a questioned e-mailed in by “David in Warren,” about the state of donations, Singer said that the drop in donors preceded the current economic downturn. Researching figures from the past few years, she noticed an emerging trend. “We are 209 donors behind where we were last year, but we have lost about 200 a year over the past few years. It was startling to see,” she said.
Dealing with a loss like that was going to take creativity and “thinking outside the box,” she said.
Eleanor Rubin of Watchung, a past president of federation and current cochair of its Mack Ness Fund, asked how the administration had managed to fulfill its commitments as well as it had.
Stone answered that everyone “has worked as a team.” The administrative budget was cut by 10 percent this year and would be reduced by 13 to 14 percent next year. There was also an increased emphasis on regional cooperation between federations as a means to cutting costs.
Rabbi Randi Musnitsky of Temple Har Shalom in Warren gave the d’var Torah. Acknowledging that it has been a tough year, she suggested a different view. The success of our communities, she said, should be measured not in the numbers of dollars raised, or programs run, or members retained, but rather “in the hearts touched, the minds expanded, and the friends made. The success of any organization is built on relationships,” she said, “and in terms of the many deep, rich, relationships formed this past year, it has been a success.”
Comment: comments@njjewishnews.com
--TOP--
