By Reporter staff

The Jewish Federation of Greater Binghamton decided to use a different strategy for its Campaign this year. “Since we’ve offered numerous events for all different ages over the past year, we decided that Super Sunday would concentrate on fund-raising, rather than offering a brunch and another program,” said Shelley Hubal, executive director of the Federation. “Our focus was to get people to make their pledges as early as possible. To do that, we sent out letters to every member of the Federation before Super Sunday, used The Reporter to encourage people to donate early and sent out e-mail blasts reminding people to pledge.”
Hubal believes the strategy had a real impact. “I would call it a complete success,” she said. “There is still plenty of work to do, but we’ve made good progress.”

The Federation Allocation Committee has already met and approved all the allocations from community organizations for the amount of $303,195. However, only 62 percent of that amount has been raised, so Hubal noted the fund-raising needs to continue. “Every pledge – no matter how small – makes a difference,” she said. “Every dollar counts.”

Hubal added that this year has shown people the importance of community support. “Jews everywhere are feeling fragile after the October 7 attacks on Israel and the increasing amount of antisemitism occurring across the world,” she said. “Our community came together for a peace rally that included rabbis from across the different movements. That gathering showed we are all one people; we are there for each other as one people. This is just one example of how the Federation works behind the scenes to create a connected community.”

To make a pledge to Campaign 2024: 

• Visit the Federation website here and click on “make a pledge.”
• E-mail Hubal at director@jfgb.org with “pledge” in the subject line.
• Fill out this form and mail it to the Jewish Federation of Greater Binghamton, 500 Clubhouse Rd., Vestal, NY 13850.