I took piano lessons growing up. For years, it seemed. And while I was largely ambivalent to the formal recitals, I remember vividly playing for my nana despite her living three states away. During our Sunday night conversations I often stretched the coiled, yellow kitchen phone cord through the living room to the piano. I would struggle through a bit of whatever I was practicing that week and at the end ask breathlessly, “Did you hear that, Nana?!” Her inevitable compliment left me feeling proud, warm, loved.
A few weeks ago, my husband and I purchased a new digital piano. Of its many bells and whistles, it includes a USB port that allows us to record a song, upload it to a computer and email it to family. It is a feature I hope to one day use with our children and my mom. A lot has changed in 30 years.
And now in 2012, a changed process yet the same end goal: a grandchild and grandparent sharing a special moment.
Super Sunday 2012 is a week away. In my second year as co-chair, I continue to thoroughly enjoy the thought and planning that culminates in one of the largest fundraising efforts of our Jewish community. For me, volunteering for Super Sunday has not only allowed me to learn about the breadth of the Federation’s impact, it has served as a quasi-history lesson about past fundraising efforts. Before the days of email campaigns, blog posts and Facebook updates; before Super Sunday even existed, there were dedicated volunteers who knocked on doors, wrote letters and picked up the phone.
This year’s Super Sunday, no longer on Super Bowl Sunday, has a new look and feel. It will be Sunday night rather than the morning and early afternoon. We will be using Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to share updates. We will have only one Sunday calling session. Some volunteers will be using personal mobile phones to facilitate donor and thank you calls.
Yes, a changed process, but with the same end goal: dedicated volunteers giving their time to raise funds that will sustain and enhance Jewish life at home and around the world.
Super Sunday is not the only thing evolving to meet the needs of our community. The newly rebranded Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City has realigned many of its marketing activities to better communicate with the community and to better meet its needs. As Todd Stettner detailed in his Jan. 6, 2012, blog post, “50 percent of the Jewish Federation donors don’t know what we do.”
Over the past year, to improve that nagging statistic, we have seen a new logo, website and mission statement. The logo, now used by almost all Jewish Federations across the United States, represents the Federation’s cohesion despite geographic separation. An enhanced website launched this week aims to improve the flow of information. The refocused mission statement, “To sustain and enhance Jewish life at home and around the world,” has been integrated into Federation marketing material. Each of these marketing activities allows donors to better see how their contributions impact the Jewish community, as well as which groups or services might fit their current needs or life stages.
In the simplest of terms, your donations go to one of five areas of service: Safety Net, Youth & Family, Senior Adult, Jewish Identity & Education, Israel and Overseas. Approximately two-thirds of donations stay right here in Kansas City. Each and every gift to the Annual Community Campaign serves the Jewish Federation’s mission, to sustain and enhance Jewish life at home and around the world. Everywhere. Everyday.
It is through all these changes that the Jewish Federation can remain the same. And it is an honor to be part of it.
Karen Loggia is co-chairing this year’s Super Sunday with Neal Schwartz.
