Though the Jewish Federation of Ocean County’s Super Sunday had a different setting and season this year, the objective — making a difference for Jews locally, in Israel, and around the world — remained the same.
Unlike past Super Sundays during the winter at the Holiday Inn in Toms River, this year’s phone-a-thon, which raised $40,000, took place on April 25 at the Jersey Shore Jewish Academy (JSJA) in Howell. Volunteers also used their cell phones instead of landlines at the Super Sunday site.
Some of the changes were made with the recession in mind, but that, too, may be changing. Federation Executive Director Danny Goldberg said he thinks “perhaps psychologically, the pall that the economy put over the average donor has somewhat relaxed, so we are grateful that people still understand that federation is the primary cause that supports and looks after Jews in the Jewish community in many places around the world, including being a primary connection to Israel.”
Among other causes, funds raised on Super Sunday help support Israel’s social services and needy, help seniors “live in their homes with dignity and support as long as it’s feasible,” and support JSJA as well as congregational Hebrew schools, Goldberg said.
“It’s really the most effective way we can try and connect with the large percent of our donors whose gifts are very important to us, and who we feel understand this important connection through Super Sunday to having a say in supporting the Jewish people,” Goldberg said.
Goldberg said holding Super Sunday at JSJA was “really a tribute to the fact that in the macro context, we are a community that works well together and is mutually supportive in a way that really enhances our community for everyone.” Federation is “grateful for [JSJA] going out of their way to accommodate us,” he said.
Super Sunday certainly had a different feel than usual for Ron Rotem, in his first year as federation president. Rotem acknowledged he felt more responsibility making his Super Sunday phone calls this time around.
“You want everything to go well and you want the organization to be successful on all fronts, so you just can’t help but feel an extra responsibility,” Rotem said.
Rotem said Super Sunday is “really not about the money,” but about “helping Jewish people locally, nationally, and internationally.” Helping Israel and Russian Jews are two of the causes Rotem said are high priorities for many people he calls on Super Sunday.
“Whichever way you want to help, we can allow you to help in that way,” he said.
Unlike Rotem, Rabbi Moshe Gourarie, director of Chabad of Toms River, was a Super Sunday volunteer for the first time. Things got off on the right foot when he was able to secure a pledge on his first call.
“The Jewish federation does wonderful work for the community, and I think all the facets of the community should get together to support one another,” Gourarie said.
Rita Sason, director of Jewish Family & Children’s Service (JFCS) of Ocean County, said she had the entire community in mind — not just JFCS — when she makes calls on Super Sunday, but explained that working at JFCS means she is more aware than some other callers about switching “from ‘Can you help us?’ to ‘Can we help you?’” When other volunteers find out that someone they called on Super Sunday has a sick family member or another problem, they forward the information to Sason, who makes the necessary follow-up calls.
“They’ve pledged in the past, and what they’ve pledged to is also available to them,” Sason said of donors.
Marshall Kurtzman of Jackson, volunteering at his fifth Super Sunday for federation, said his sales pitch is much like that of Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), which says it depends on “viewers like you.”
“We are very dependent on people’s financial support,” Kurtzman said. “That’s the only way we can function.”
Kurtzman said many people he calls on Super Sunday talk about the economy, for example, saying things like “my husband is out of work.” However, it’s very rare that donors back away from the pledges they have given in past years, Kurtzman said.
David Rosen, a past president of federation, said he thinks it’s important that people he calls understand that he is a volunteer.
“We are all community people that are asking our fellow community members to help support something important” for schools, Jewish families, and global Jewry, Rosen said. On a trip to Russia 10 years ago, Rosen said he saw the dire situation of Jews there first hand, with some Jews living on as little as $18 a month.
“They really need food support, medical support, they need community support in terms of helping them know there is a Jewish community out there,” Rosen said.
Jesse Arnstein, a first-time Super Sunday volunteer from Jackson, said it’s meaningful for him to support federation because federation supports JSJA, where his son Aaron is a 2nd grader.
“I’m very appreciative of federation’s support for the school because without that support, [Aaron] would probably not be able to attend [JSJA],” Arnstein said.
Volunteers using cell phones on Super Sunday is important because activating and de-activating onsite phone cost federation $150 per line — for about 20 lines — in the past, Goldberg said. Cell phone use is also not a problem for most volunteers because most cell plans offer free weekend calling, he said.
“In this environment, where federation is trying to be even more cost-conscious than normal, this really is a big savings to us,” Goldberg said.
Super Sunday’s springtime date this year reflects the restructuring of federation’s annual campaign timeline, Goldberg said.
“We will obviously have to evaluate here what’s working and what needs to be rethought, and we’ll go from there,” he said.
Goldberg also emphasized how “federation is part of the fabric of the Jewish and non-Jewish community in Ocean County, and tries to respond as effectively as possible to what are thankfully limited incidents on anti-Semitism is our community, and trying to prevent anti-Semitism to the extent that such as thing is possible by fostering good interfaith and inter-ethnic relationships in this area.”