Super Sunday phonathon unleashes a ‘powerful’ community spirit

by Ron Kaplan
NJJN Staff Writer

As if giving his time weren’t enough, Ron Brandt was also busy giving his blood.

“It’s a perfect match,” he said, sipping some post-procedural apple juice in the bloodmobile, from the East Orange-based Blood Center of New Jersey, that was parked at the Alex Aidekman Family Jewish Community Campus in Whippany. “We have Super Sunday where we are raising funds for so many Jewish services, both locally and overseas; giving blood is just another way of giving tzedaka.”

Brandt has been a volunteer at the annual fund-raising event for more than 25 years. “I’ve enjoyed seeing it…grow. It also builds community spirit and camaraderie.”

This year, Brandt was joined by about 1,000 like-minded comrades who helped raise more than $2.2 million dollars on a cold and snowy Dec. 4. The event is the largest single-day fund-raiser for United Jewish Communities of MetroWest New Jersey, whose UJA campaign raises more than $24 million for Jewish and secular services locally and in Israel.

“In tough times, we are going to be looking for many nongovernmental agencies to help serve the community,” said United States Sen. and NJ Gov.-elect Jon Corzine, one of many local politicians to work the calling center. “Nobody does it better than UJC.

“You are doing God’s work,” he told volunteers.

For Mindy Kirschner of Randolph, the day marked her 14th Super Sunday and her second and final year as cochair. Comparing the current atmosphere to last year’s event, Kirschner said, “This has a life of its own. It’s a fabulous community day. Young, old, anyone who wants to help. A thousand people get together to do God’s work.”

Rae Beim of West Orange was one of those older ones helping out. She began volunteering more than 60 years ago. “UJA was UPA — United Palestine Appeal — in those days,” she said. “We went door to door for dollar bills. If someone was feeling generous, they’d give five dollars.”

Beim was one of a dozen residents of the Jewish Federation Plaza in West Orange who braved the nasty weather to travel to Whippany. “I figure they need people,” she said modestly. “I try to do what I can.”

Another long-timer was Lois Lautenberg, who was the recipient of the 2005 UJA Volunteer of the Year Award. A resident of Montclair, Lautenberg is chair of the Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest’s Lion of Judah Endowment and cochair of the Holocaust Council of MetroWest. A past chair of UJC MetroWest Women’s Department, she serves on the UJC MetroWest executive committee and the board of JCC MetroWest.

Lautenberg said she was grateful for the opportunity to be of service to the Jewish community. Kirschner praised the honoree for her many and diverse areas of volunteerism.

Super Sunday cochair Susan Weinstock of Montville pointed out that the day wasn’t just about dollars and cents. “It’s doing things to help people not just in this community, but elsewhere in the world. We’ve collected all sorts of clothing — winter coats, hats, scarves — for our sister city, Cherkassy, in Ukraine.” Pointing to a nearby bin, she said, “As you can see, our trunk is overflowing so we’re thrilled that people are helping out.”

Stephen Kepniss of Short Hills, another cochair for the event, whose theme was One Powerful Day, was making his calls in a section designated for members of the Cedar Hill Country Club in Livingston. A few tables down was a group from the Mountain Ridge Country Club of West Caldwell. Was there a friendly competition going on between them? No, he said, smiling, everyone was there for the same purpose.

Louis Pasteelnick has been working at the annual fund-raising drive for more than 30 years. He was part of a group from Mount Freedom Jewish Center, on hand to support the campaign as a volunteer since, like many, “we can’t always give as much [money] as we’d like.”

Not all solicitations were made over the telephone. Bob Max, president of the Jewish Historical Society of MetroWest, was busy securing “face-to-face” pledges.

“It’s different when you look someone in the eye,” said Max. “In a way it’s easier than the phone. You get a bond.”

The “young” to whom Kirschner had referred were also well-represented. Children ran around collecting forms and handing out sweets to the callers. And at a table set aside for teenagers, Greg Vilensky, 15, was busy tapping out numbers on a phone pad, calling potential donors. “Most people are willing to talk to me,” said the sophomore from Parsippany High School. “Most people want to be helpful.”

Boy Scout Troop 118, led by Rabbi Lisa S. Vernon, scooped up pledge sheets to bring to the sorting room for processing. “Scouts are not allowed to solicit funds for anything except [Scout projects],” she explained, so they help out in other ways. The troop, which operates out of Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union, is a “kosher, shomer Shabbos” group that carries out all the regular Boy Scout functions, “but with a Jewish flavor,” she said.

In addition to Corzine, among the local dignitaries who stopped by to greet the volunteers and lend a hand at the phone banks were Patricia Sebold, vice chair, Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders; Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-Dist. 11); Assemblyman-elect Tom Giblin (D-Dist. 34); state Sen. Tom Kean, Jr., (D-Dist. 21); and mayors Carl Bergmanson of Glen Ridge, David Katz of Livingston, and Joseph Tempesta of West Caldwell.

There was the occasional respite in the midst of the organized chaos. Meals and snacks were available throughout the day. During the morning shift, Synthia Gonzalez, who works for Jewish Family Service of MetroWest, won a watch for convincing the most donors to increase their pledges over last year’s amounts.

The day was barely half over but Weinstock was already thinking ahead. “Everything the volunteers do here is of great value and appreciated. And we encourage everyone in the community, whether you want to make calls or do something else, to come next year. It’s just an exciting, wonderful day.”

Ron Kaplan can be reached at RKaplan@njjewishnews.com.

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