YAD Super Sunday 2015 Steering Committee Brandon Terkeltaub,Morgan Bober, Eliot Weinstein, Joash Shulman, Callah Davis, Eric Miller, Jeremy Krupnick, David Calliott, Jade Rouzeau, Samantha Golden, Benyamin Yaffe and Joshua Mallenbaum. Missing: Meryl Mulligan and Sean Mulligan.
For the past several years, the volunteer committee in charge of planning the Tidewater Jewish community’s annual phone-a-thon has asked itself the same question:
“Is calling people on their telephones, asking for donations to help their fellow Jews, still relevant?”
The 13 members of the 2015 Super Sunday steering committee took less than two minutes to ponder the question at one of their first meetings.
Their answer? A resounding, “Yes!”
“Whether they’re sitting at home on Sunday, Jan. 25 waiting for a call on their home phones, or are out with their families and get a call or see a Tweet on their cellphone, or are the ones making the calls with 100 other people at the Sandler Campus that day—we’ve heard over and over that this community wants Super Sunday to continue,” says Jeremy Krupnick.
Krupnick and Eliot Weinstein co-chair the group of young Jewish adults who were invited by the Young Adult Division of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater to hone their leadership skills through their involvement in Super Sunday.
Those who accepted the invitation are enthusiast ically tackling the planning, org a n i z i ng and execution of the event on Sunday, Jan 25. The idea they chose as this year’s theme, Be Part of Our Next Chapter, is designed to encompass the ideas of tradition, connection and commitment to a solid future for the Tidewater Jewish community.
Jade Rouzeau is new to the area. She began participating in YAD events soon after moving here from Jacksonville, and is eager to help energize the community, and support its Jewish organizations.
“This is how I find my connection to the Jewish community—I find out what’s going on, and I get involved.” says Rouzeau. “This is the first committee I’ve been involved in here, but I can already feel how Super Sunday creates a buzz about the community,” she says. “I think we always need a kind of push to reconnect, and what can be better than having a diverse group of people—not just on the committee but on the actual day of Super Sunday–joining together to do something positive and important that makes a difference.”
The committee would like to see hundreds, if not thousands, of community members participate in Super Sunday this year—by sharing their Jewish stories on the UJFTidewater Facebook page (in words, images, and videos) beginning now, by volunteering to make calls or share messages on social media on that Sunday, and by making donations before, during and after the event at JewishVA.org.
“The money we raise during Super Sunday will add, we hope, at least $100,000 to the UJFT’s Annual Campaign to support our fellow Jews where we live and in communities all around the world,” says Weinstein. “
Volunteers are needed for Super Sunday. Two shifts are available, 9–11 am and 11 am–1 pm. Sign up at JewishVA.org/SuperSunday, or call 757-965-6111.
by Laine Mednick Rutherford