"A community is too heavy for anyone to carry alone."

-- Deuteronomy, Rabbah 1:10

It was a rainy Sunday, but even the downpour didn't keep volunteers from making the 2000 campaign the most successful Super Sunday event ever, beating last year's $4.75 million tally.

This year's Super Sunday campaign enlisted the efforts of 2,700 volunteers in soliciting contributions by phone at designated sites across the city. By the end of the day, a record-breaking $5,165,961 in donations (that's 3, 410 gifts) was raised in total. Proceeds from the annual phone-a-thon fundraiser will benefit The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles' United Jewish Fund and will subsidize roughly 10 percent of the annual Federation budget for its affiliated outreach agencies and programs.

As The Journal spent the day visiting the Super Sunday sites, it became apparent that, beyond the new Internet presence in this year's campaign, it was the human element and community spirit that made Super Sunday 2000 work.

Central Site Westside Jewish

Community Center, Los Angeles

By 10:45 a.m., Central Site had already taken in $210,000 in pledges. The largest of the four Super Sunday stations, Central Site was a microcosm of the Jewish community at large -- children, teens, senior citizens, families, observant, non-observant. Jews of all ethnic backgrounds could be seen at the phone banks. There was even a designated Russian-language section.

"I used to like working in the kitchen but now I like card collecting," said Sara Smith, a 13-year-old student at Maimonides Academy whose 10-year-old brother Benny was working the phones. "My whole family is here."

"You get that warm feeling that you get in the community," said 20-something Roanna Dem, well into her shift working the phones. "The Jewish community has been pretty receptive. It hasn't been that difficult at all [to solicit contributions]."

Actresses Renee Taylor and Lainie Kazan, both of "The Nanny" fame, not only made an appearance, but gave blood at the National Marrow Donor Program booth.

Said Kazan, "If I can save a life, it will be my honor."

Kidding around with Taylor and Kazan was KTLA Morning News personality Paul Ryan. Having hosted the Lou Rawls Parade of Stars for nine years, Ryan is no stranger to charity drives. But for Ryan, Super Sunday was particularly personal. The TV personality said that Jews in the entertainment industry could do a lot more for Jewish causes.

"L.A. needs an excuse to bring people together," said Ryan, who has been active in Jewish causes since his days living at Kibbutz Zikim in Ashkalon.

Along with the Bone Marrow Booth, the Super Sunday Circus area represented a diverse cross-section of Jewish L.A.: Hillel Harkham Hebrew Academy, Adat Shalom and Sinai Temple to name a few. The Mitzvah-thon area let children make sandwiches for the needy, and Jewish Community Youth Council let kids make customized T-shirts. The University of Judaism's Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies featured an "Ask the Rabbi" table, where rabbinical student Joshua Katzan provided spiritual counseling on topics like tzedakah.

"One boy asked me, Is God perfect?," Katzan said. "He was trying to prepare a response for his brother."

By lunchtime, Central Site was up $626,000 in contributions. Super Sunday Director Jodi Berman told The Journal that the amount included some proceeds a pair of kids had donated from a lemonade-stand sale.

In the food hall, "Hang Time" actress Megan Parlan and "Freaks & Geeks" star Samm Levine took a break from lending their support to the main floor. Levine spent lunch entertaining police officers with some good-natured questioning about parking ticket loopholes. Levine, who was present at the opening of Valley Alliance's Milken Gym, told The Journal that Super Sunday reminded him of the community spirit of his home town -- Fort Lee, New Jersey. He also mentioned that when his show started, he informed his handlers that he wanted to be involved in charities, particularly "anything Jewish-related, community-centered."

State Senators Richard Alarcon and Kevin Murray also helped make the event a success. At the end of the day, Central Site had amassed $2,428,989 (4,363 gifts). Organizers proudly report that mayoral candidate and Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa got on the phones and raised $10,500 in one hour. But the organizers do not want the financial aspect of the fundraiser to overshadow the good work being done.

Said Alan Aronson, Central Site Vice Chair, "I like to see the whole community come together... in addition to writing a check, I like to help so the process works more smoothly."

South Bay Council, Torrance

At 5:30 p.m., South Bay Council was celebrating its personal best -- $177,530. Amidst boxes of kosher pizza and a cake bearing the Super Sunday logo, the festive group sang a couple of Hebrew songs to commemorate the tally.

The smallest of the four sites, South Bay's contingent was the coziest and most familial. But the energy was no less infectious than at the larger sites, as the volunteers -- a large portion of them teenagers -- enjoyed a good time as they beat their site's previous total.

Ellen Wiesen, who has lived in Palos Verdes for 25 years, said that she became involved with Super Sunday through her 22-year-old daughter Rachel. A Super Sunday co-chair in previous years, the energetic Wiesen loves the idea behind Super Sunday.

"People here come back year after year," said Wiesen. "For me, because I have been fortunate, I feel a responsibility to help those less fortunate."

When Super Sunday ended, South Bay's grand total came in at $215, 338 (824 gifts). For South Bay Super Sunday leader Margie Feldman, raising that kind of money was no chore.

"It's been really exciting," said Feldman. "We've added a lot of Judaic components [this year] and people have really liked that." She also reports that several rabbis had dropped by, including Rabbi Steven Silver of Temple Menorah in Redondo Beach, who read a dvar Torah.

Over the nine years that she's been part of the local Jewish population (roughly 46,000 in the South Bay area), Feldman has seen the Jewish community there solidify. She notes that 3,600 people attended Israel's 50th Jubilee, and that a recent mitzvah event attracted more than 300 Jews of every denomination. Said Feldman, "The community is definitely trying to come together."

Sawtelle Site,

West Los Angeles

In Super Sunday's last few hours, this site -- with its predominantly 20- and 30-something contingent -- could have resembled, in another context, a college fund drive. As the long day drew to a close, the room at the Federation's Westside annex had a late-night dormitory feel. Fueled by a Super Sundae bar, pizza and raffle prizes, the young volunteers hung in there, closing the day with a grand total of $1,011,297 (2,512 gifts) for the site.

Bill Bernstein, who heads the Federation's Financial Resource Development department, notes that a better Super Sunday training approach, a healthy economy, and heightened awareness of the Federation's role in the community were all factors in this year's successful campaign.

"It was a great day for our community," says Bernstein. "Our volunteers in particular were energized and spirited in their calls."

As Carrie Cohen, who worked the South Bay phones, put it, "It's a good feeling to be part of a community effort."