Pledges totaling more than $380,000 were collected during Super Sunday, the biggest one-day, community-wide fund-raising event of the Jewish Federation of Greater Monmouth County.

Although pledge totals are still being tabulated, the donations will likely exceed last year's amount, which equaled approximately $380,000, according to Howard Gases, the federation's executive director.

Throughout the daylong event, which took place Nov. 18 at the Ruth Hyman Jewish Community Center in Deal, more than 300 volunteers took shifts on telephone detail, while others staffed the mail room, performed administrative tasks, and kept the food court well supplied, Gases said.

"The hard work of these dedicated volunteers and the generosity of our donors are what make Super Sunday so successful, year after year," said Gases. "Their support means the federation will be able to continue the important work we do on a local and global scale."

Among those who expressed support for the federation's efforts was Gov. Jon Corzine, who paid a morning visit to the center.

"The coming together of individuals and communities to help others is what this whole effort is about," Corzine told NJ Jewish News. "It expresses a strong statement of people's humanity and their desire to make a difference in Monmouth County, the state of New Jersey, and throughout the world."

The spirit of tikun olam is alive and well, he added.

"The concept of repairing the world and making it a better place has survived throughout the ages," Corzine said. "I believe in speaking out in support of Israel, and there is solidarity on this issue among many others in government."

The funds collected during Super Sunday 2007 will become part of the federation's annual campaign, said Gases. The money will be used for a variety of causes, including support for local programming as well as programs in Israel and other parts of the world.

The federation's global outreach is a core element of Jewish heritage, said Rabbi Sally Priesand, rabbi emerita of Monmouth Reform Temple in Tinton Falls, who was among the Super Sunday volunteers.

"I consider the contributions to the federation to be some of the dues we pay for being members of the Jewish people," said Priesand. "We have an obligation to take care of each other in our own communities, in Israel, and around the world."

That obligation was an incentive for donor generosity, said Abby Kramsky of Marlboro and Jonathan Barofsky of Ocean, both of whom served as event cochairs for the third consecutive year.

"Super Sunday pledges ensure that the federation's many programs and outreach services can continue, and there are so many who need our help," said Kramsky. "For example, $100 provides one day of care for a senior citizen who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, $120 provides a five-month Hebrew language program for a new immigrant at an Israeli absorption center, and $500 will help provide educational materials for 35 children at a Jewish kindergarten in Poland. A $1,300 donation means that a year of daily meals-on-wheels will be provided for one homebound senior. Our donors know a good cause when they see one."

The federation programs have earned the respect of the Jewish and general communities, added Barofsky.

"I think the public knows who we are, what we do, and how our programs work," he said. "They support us so we can support others who need help, and providing that help and that sense of caring is part of what it means to be Jewish."

Ruth Hyman of Long Branch, who has participated in federation fund-raising efforts for more than 25 years, said the generosity of Monmouth County's Jewish community never subsides.

"In the past, I'd walk door-to-door throughout Ocean Township and I was always well-received," said Hyman. "It's harder to ask for donations unless you're a giver yourself, but the local Jewish population is made up of givers. They want to help — and they do."