Mar 16, 2015
Generosity of Spirit Pervades Super Sunday/Good Deeds Day Event
A sense of collective purpose pervaded the Greater Miami Jewish Federation as more than 700 volunteers participated in Super Sunday and Good Deeds Day on March 15 with a shared commitment to caring for others. This year’s 10-hour phonathon drew more than $760,000 in pledges from more than 1,400 donors.
Throughout the building, volunteers of all ages made thousands of phone calls to people in Miami-Dade, soliciting support for the 2015 Federation/UJA Campaign, while hundreds of volunteers joined in mitzvah projects to benefit people in need.
“Super Sunday and Good Deeds Day have so much in common because they both focus on generosity of spirit,” said Alex Halberstein, who co-chaired Super Sunday for the second consecutive year along with members of his family. “Together, we strengthen the fabric of our community, and serve our brothers and sisters at home and abroad.”
Each year, Federation’s Super Sunday raises hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund vital social service, humanitarian and educational programs in Miami, in Israel and in more than 70 other countries worldwide. Volunteer activities included:
• Assembling 600 brown-bag lunches and drawing inspirational cards for the homeless by high school students and children ages 9-12. Completed lunches and cards were delivered to local shelters.
• Creating more than 100 colorful placemats for senior citizens who receive free nutritious kosher lunches at Jewish Community Services (JCS) of South Florida’s meal sites. This project involved children, ages 5 and younger, under the supervision of adults and teens.
• Preparing 75 challah bread loaves to be enjoyed by families of special needs teens and JCS Kosher Food Bank recipients this coming Sabbath. Special needs teens were paired with high school students, and together, they kneaded flour and braided the delicious loaves.
• Families assembling more than 200 specially wrapped “care packages” for women and children in need in the community. Families with children ages 5-8 donated pajamas, books and snacks, and created special bookplates and cards to be delivered to recipients.
“All of our volunteers came away from this event with an amazing feeling of accomplishment,” said Robert Berrin, Federation Chair of the Board. “It is a wonderful demonstration of the kindness and commitment that becomes possible when we all work together.”
Good Deeds Day was initiated by American-Israeli philanthropist Shari Arison to put into practice the simple idea that every person can do a good deed for the benefit of others, be it large or small. Good Deeds Day connects to Arison’s Doing Good vision, which promotes the idea that people hold the power to positively transform the world, creating lasting and real change for future generations. Starting in Israel in 2007 with 7,000 volunteers, Good Deeds Day has spread beyond geographical boundaries to include hundreds of thousands of volunteers in 50 countries. The Greater Miami Jewish Federation thanks the Ted Arison Family Foundation for making Good Deeds Day possible in Miami and around the world.
Founded more than 25 years ago, Super Sunday is the Greater Miami Jewish Federation’s largest annual volunteer fundraising day. The 2015 Super Sunday Vice Chairs were the Ciment family, Miami Beach; Keith Ginsburg, South Dade; and Darci Cohen and Mallory Gold, The Network. Shana Russo is Chair of the Jewish Volunteer Center of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, which coordinated the day’s volunteer efforts.
