December 2, 2008
The New Jersey federations are uniting! For the first time, a statewide Super Sunday will be held on Dec. 7.
The Jewish Federation of Monmouth County’s Super Sunday will be held at the Ruth Hyman Jewish Community Center in Deal.
The federation’s 2009 campaign supports the community by assuring food and companionship for the poor and elderly; providing educational experiences for our youths; advocating on a local, state, and national level for worldwide Jewry; and responding directly to the needs in Israel.
The Jewish Agency for Israel, one of the federation’s beneficiary agencies and its overseas partner, recently brought the parents of lone soldiers, those who have no family in Israel, from around the world to see their children who serve in the Israel Defense Forces. The Jewish Agency also provides prepaid phone cards, gifts, and food packages for the lone soldiers.
The annual campaign is the engine that drives the work of the Monmouth County federation. Super Sunday is a day for the Jewish community to work together by raising needed funds for Jews in Monmouth County, Israel, and around the world. We need your help — please volunteer and help raise awareness about the vital work your contributions provide.
Our current economic situation is impacting the lives of men, women, and children everywhere. But as important as it is to react quickly in these challenging times, it is donations like yours that allow us to maintain programs here in Monmouth County. Every gift makes a difference.
Kids who want to go to a Jewish summer camp, your neighbor who just lost his job, and an elderly friend who needs a good kosher meal — all benefit from your generosity. Hunger among Jews across the world is a very real problem, and some elderly people must choose whether to pay for food or medicine; they cannot afford both.
The Jewish federation’s annual campaign funds allow Monmouth County teens to participate in Taglit-Birthright Israel’s free first-time trip to the Holy Land. Birthright provides educational trips to Israel for young adults ages 18 to 26. The founders of Birthright created this program to enable thousands of young Jewish adults from all over the world to travel to Israel to build a sense of solidarity among world Jewry, and to strengthen their personal Jewish identity and connection to Judaism.
This year, the federation has decided to partner with the American Red Cross and hold a blood drive that will take place on Super Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the JCC. The Red Cross says “the need for blood is constant, and the gratification is instant.”
According to the Red Cross, every two seconds — more than 43,000 times a day — someone in the United States needs blood. Donors are still needed to donate blood on Super Sunday. The blood drive is another way the federation is helping the community-at-large.
We could not accomplish our many goals without our dedicated, hardworking volunteers. Each year, we have more than 200 volunteers that work a 50-phone telephone bank, help to babysit children of other volunteers, assist in the mailroom and food court, and perform other important tasks on Super Sunday.
Every year, elected officials from local municipalities and the state Senate and Assembly stop by on Super Sunday, giving community volunteers an opportunity to hear firsthand about how they are making a difference in the Jewish community. We are grateful to them for giving us their support year after year.
When you enter the call room on Super Sunday, you can’t help but feel like you are part of an effort for the greater good. It gives me a sense of accomplishment to look around the room and see so many smiling volunteers making a difference. Volunteers are still needed. Please be part of our “One People + One Day = One Community.”
As Jews, we have a tradition and obligation to help others through the giving of tzedaka. By volunteering on Super Sunday you help those who cannot help themselves. Join us on Dec. 7 and perform a mitzva.
Miriam M. Kaplan is director of leadership development and campaign associate for the Jewish Federation of Monmouth County.
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