Campaign kicks off with successful Super Sunday

The Jewish Alliance kicked off its 2018 Annual Campaign with another successful Super Sunday on Sept. 17. Thanks to the support of volunteers who made phone calls and donors who “answered the call,” the Alliance raised approximately $88,000 to benefit the Jewish community in Rhode Island and around the world. More than 65 volunteers, including representatives from a dozen synagogues and agencies, joined together throughout the day to mobilize in support of the work of the Alliance.

The volunteers closed gifts from 219 donors. In addition, the community showed support for those affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma by donating gift cards from national retailers. Children and teens who attended were encouraged to decorate cards that will be sent to Jewish agencies in Texas and Florida for distribution to those affected by the storms.

Aaron and Hillary Guttin chaired Super Sunday. Both are Jewish communal professionals, volunteers in the community and also involved with (401)j, the Alliance’s young adult initiative. Hillary is a pre-K teacher at the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island (JCDSRI) and Aaron is the assistant director of Camp JORI.

Super Sunday volunteers representing many of the agencies and synagogues in Rhode Island participated in an agency and synagogue-wide competition to win a prize for board development, education or training.

This year, JCDSRI won the competition with 16 volunteers in attendance; Providence Hebrew Day School was in second place. The other winners of various contests during Super Sunday included Dick Silverman, Shoshana Golden and Adam Roth for making the most calls, leaving the most voicemails and closing the most gifts, respectively. They each won a homemade challah board donated by event co-chair Aaron Guttin.

Aaron said, “Super Sunday was a great way to kick off the campaign and the school year as our community reconvenes after a great summer. At Camp JORI, I was with the children and grandchildren  of numerous Super Sunday volunteers and donors, and it was great to reconnect with everyone.”

Hillary added, “It was so wonderful to see everyone come out and support our Jewish community. A special thank you to the all of the agencies and synagogues who invited their professionals, board members, volunteers and families.”

As part of the Teen Leadership and Philanthropy (TLP) program, local teens also joined in a special parallel program where they wrote thank you notes, learned about philanthropy, discussed their values and met with Alliance volunteers to learn why they are involved in community service, volunteerism and other work at the Alliance. TLP is an experiential learning program that incorporates intensive leadership symposiums, group volunteer experiences, social programming and learning philanthropy skills in a fun, eight-month adventure. For more information contact Seth Finkle at sfinkle@jewishallianceri.org

Dollars raised for the Annual Campaign help fund more than 300 programs and services that are dedicated to enriching Jewish life in Rhode Island and abroad. The Alliance works to ensure that no one in need goes without - from battered overseas communities lacking food supplies and medicine to impoverished local families in need of access, opportunity, and employment; from young married couples wanting a Jewish life for their families to teens traveling the world to strengthen their Jewish identity.

For more information about the 2018 Annual Campaign, the Jewish Alliance or to make a gift by phone, contact Michele Gallagher at mgallagher@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 165. You can also make your gift online at jewishallianceri.org.

STEPHANIE HAGUE (shague@jewishallianceri.org) is the philanthropy officer at the Jewish Alliance.