As the Jewish Federation of Greater Monmouth County prepares for its Super Sunday fund-raiser on Nov. 19, 10 of its supporters participated in an Oct. 31 mission that visited some of the organization’s beneficiary agencies in Monmouth County.

By the end of the day, participants had been shown the breadth of the federation’s support for local Jewish life, from its schools and community centers to the services it provides for all ages — from the very young to the very old.

Freda Pollack of Allentown, who co-chaired the local mission along with Lisa Greenberg of Morganville, referred to the mission as a “day of education” for the mission members.

“It gave federation donors and other interested persons a better understanding of where federation money is allocated,” Pollack said. “It’s a privilege to give to the federation on Super Sunday and throughout the year. It’s the right thing to do and it preserves Jewish life and culture.”

Super Sunday is the federation’s biggest one-day, community-wide fund-raising effort. Each year it brings in donor pledges totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.

On Nov. 19, 300 volunteers will staff 50 phones at the Ruth Hyman Jewish Community Center in Deal from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. The volunteers will call members of Monmouth County’s Jewish community to ask for their financial support.

The mission was an opportunity to explain the wide variety of causes supported by the federation — locally, nationally, in Israel, and around the world.

Before embarking on visits to some of the Monmouth County beneficiary sites, the Oct. 31 local mission participants gathered at the Jewish Community Center of Western Monmouth in Manalapan to hear presentations from representatives of local Jewish agencies. They included the Jewish Family and Children’s Service in Asbury Park, the federation, the Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Monmouth County in Marlboro, the Jewish Community Center of Western Monmouth, and the Rutgers University chapter of Hillel.

Mindy Grafstein of Morganville, a JCCWM volunteer, explained that federation support enables the center to provide programs for senior citizens, young adults, and children. The variety of strong children’s programs, including sports activities and participation in the annual Maccabi Games, will inspire them to support Jewish causes as they grow into adulthood, Grafstein said.

And the programs for senior citizens, which include day trips to museums, a Yiddish film series, and other cultural events that are of interest to these members of the Jewish community, help them meet their peers and stay involved in Jewish life, added Dorothy Weiss, who is also a JCCWM volunteer.

Student participation in Rutgers Hillel has grown in recent years, said Erik Kessler, a Highland Park resident and Hillel member. There are 5,400 Jews who are members of the university’s student body; approximately 2,000 of them are involved in Hillel programs, he said.

During a visit to the Solomon Schechter Academy of Ocean and Monmouth Counties in Howell Township, the mission group watched children in pre-school and kindergarten classes sing and dance to Jewish-themed music and songs.

At the school’s new computer lab, which contains 14 computer units and was primarily funded by the federation, school director [ck title] Ricki Budelman explained the benefits of high-tech learning. Computer-assisted learning will help prepare the academy’s students for high school and college courses, she said.

Dale Daniels, executive director of the Center for Holocaust Studies at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, which receives funding from the federation, said approximately 10,000 students from 125 different schools in Monmouth and Ocean counties benefit from the center’s programs each year.

Speaking to the mission at the BCC campus, he said the center’s programmatic activities focus on the subject of genocide and methods of subverting it. The center’s lending library, which contains approximately 5,000 books on related topics, is also available to the general public, she added.

“We have lofty goals at this center,” Daniels said. “We hope to erase all forms of genocide, racism, and prejudice in our society by working to identify bigotry and learning tolerance.”

Films, panel discussions, and the center’s speaker’s bureau, which relies on Holocaust survivors and experts on other incidents of genocide — such as the mass killings in Darfur and the volatile situation in the Middle East — also offer the Jewish community and members of the community-at-large insight into these topics, Daniels said.

The mission also visited the Ruth Hyman JCC. There, they learned that the center’s activities included meals and programmatic activities for senior citizens; a preschool, summer day camp, and other activities for children; and a performing arts center that offers lectures, concerts, and other events that attract members of the adult Jewish and general communities.

At the Hillel Yeshiva in Ocean Township, another federation beneficiary, the visitors learned how Jewish culture is woven into the curriculum.

“We include socialization, character development, and the connection to Israel,” said Dr. Ruth Katz, head of the school from the early learning center to eighth grade. “Our Judaic studies begin at the early childhood level and enable children to become familiar with the Torah as they progress through the yeshiva. They also learn the value of hesed — doing good deeds.”

The uses of federation funds and the significance of the Super Sunday fund-raiser to the bottom line struck a strong chord with the participants in the local mission.

“The federation isn’t all about money,” noted Pollack after the yeshiva’s afternoon presentation. “It’s also about heart and soul.”

“The federation’s job is to raise money and allocate it to educational facilities, organizations, and agencies here and abroad that need it,” said Sheri Tarrab, a Holmdel resident who is also a vice president of the federation’s executive board. “At least 60 percent of federation funds stay right here in Monmouth County, while 40 percent is used for overseas projects. The needs of Monmouth County are extremely important to the federation.”

Additional information about the federation and Super Sunday is available on the federation’s Web site.