Major Gifts Event raises $500,000 for ’07 campaign

by Jill Huber
NJJN Bureau Chief/Monmouth

Almost $500,000 was raised by Monmouth donors at the 2006 Major Gifts Event of the Jewish Federation of Greater Monmouth County and the Jewish Federation of Ocean County.

The event, which also marked the kickoff of the Monmouth federation’s 2007 campaign, took place at the Middletown home of Janice and Richard Sambol, whose house sits on the banks of the Navesink River. A total of 110 members from both federations attended the Sept. 17 occasion, which was the first time the Monmouth and Ocean federations joined forces for the major gifts event.

“It was an opportunity for the federations to do something together and have a greater impact on this type of event,” said Howard Gases, executive director of the Monmouth County federation. “Both federations have a common goal — to raise money for Israel and the worldwide Jewish community.”

Wendy Marks and David Portman, both of Holmdel, were committee cochairs. Raising money during this tumultuous time in Israel’s history requires more donor generosity than ever, Portman said.

“This time around, the need is even more specific because of the dire need to rebuild Israel’s northern region,” he said. “We have to reach deep into our hearts. The rest of the world knows that Jews will stand up for each other, but the rest of the world won’t always help. But we will always be there.”

Marks, who said working for Israeli causes is her “life’s commitment,” said those at the major gifts event also know the meaning of the word.

“They understand what Jewish commitment really is and they give with their whole hearts,” she said. “When you see what they are willing to do to ensure the preservation of Israel and the Jewish community all over the world, it’s a proud, proud moment.”

Monmouth federation president Bob St. Lifer of Colts Neck said maintaining the State of Israel is worth any sacrifice.

“For 2,000 years, Jews yearned for a homeland, and now they have one,” he said. “We have to fight like hell to keep it. Israel can’t afford to lose one single skirmish, and Israel won’t lose — not on our watch."

Other attendees agreed that Israel’s future largely depends on the outpouring of funds from the United States. “It’s nice to be here and meet and greet other donors, but there is an emergency situation in Israel right now,” said Todd Katz of Ocean Township, who attended the event with his wife, Chris.

“We have to open a lot of eyes so the community really understands that more funds are necessary,” said Katz, who is a member of the Monmouth federation’s executive board. “We have to deal with this issue, and there’s no time to waste.”

Joel Alperson, national campaign chair of United Jewish Communities, was the keynote speaker. The evening was a strong indication of the feelings of empowerment that arise when Jews come together with a shared sense of values for a worthy cause, he said.

Alperson was in Israel when hostilities began in July; he visited bomb shelters, some of which were not adequately equipped to accommodate inhabitants for the 30 days that many were forced to remain there. He saw damaged places of business, damaged homes, and damaged lives.

“This is a blessed time in my life — I have a wonderful family and a wonderful job — but I saw so much destruction in Israel on a wide scale,” Alperson said. “People were so vulnerable there; so many couldn’t go to work, couldn’t go to school, couldn’t live in their homes. The State of Israel wasn’t founded so that its people could live with the sounds of bombs falling all around them. Israel was not founded so its people could live underground.”

But funds from the federation system in North America were used to relocate families and children to safe areas, improve the conditions in the shelters, and to carry out other tasks to create a sense of renewed hope for the Israeli population, he added.

During the past 15 years, the federations have also helped bring Jews from the former Soviet Union to new homes in Israel and provided food, clothing, shelter, medical supplies, and educational opportunities to untold numbers from Russia and Ethiopia, Alperson said.

“Some may ask why we should sustain Jewish needs when there are so many other ways to do good deeds in the world,” Alperson said. “But what we do is about bettering and saving a better way of life. It reminds us to be good and to take care of each other, to make our communities a better place, and to make the world a better place. Jewish life reminds us to search our souls and do the right thing. And what you’re doing tonight is the right thing.”