08/26/2025
Federation Campaign to Kick Off Sept. 7
Beachwood residents Gabe Brown-Ross, 12, and his father, Rabbi Michael Ross, of Temple Beth Shalom in Hudson and Hillel at Kent State University, contact potential donors at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s 2025 Campaign for Jewish Needs Super Sunday Kickoff on Sept. 8 at the Federation’s Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Building in Beachwood. CJN Photo / Abigail Preiszig
Article reprinted with permission from Cleveland Jewish News
by Lydia Kacala
The Jewish Federation of Cleveland will host its 2026 Campaign For Jewish Needs Super Sunday Kickoff event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 7 at 25701 Science Park Drive, with new activities setting this year’s event apart from years past.
Brandon
Event co-chair Allison Brandon told the Cleveland Jewish News a goal going into the planning process was to find new and exciting ways to incorporate families and community into the six-hour event.
“We are always thinking how can we make this event family-oriented, community-oriented, and highlight things in our community that mean so much to us, but also gives our agencies time to highlight their wins of the year,” Brandon, a University Heights resident, said.
This year, attendees can participate in a community painting project where people are asked to help design and paint picnic tables, she said. Following the event, the finished picnic tables will be moved to the Jewish day schools in the area.
Another goal Brandon and her co-chairs, Ryan Levine and Arica Jacobson, had for this year was to increase pre-registration numbers, leading to the introduction of the registration raffle, she said. While people are welcome to attend without registering beforehand, those that do so before Sept. 1 will be entered into the raffle, which includes gift cards and swag items as prizes.
Adding that the annual campaign is important for Cleveland’s Jewish community, along with other national and international Jewish communities, Brandon said the campaign supports the Federation in its efforts to feed the community, support its older adults, enhance security and more.
“It’s important for us to come together,” Brandon said. “We do a ton of work in services and programs, not only here, but in different places in Israel. ... And the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s annual campaign ensures our diverse community will remain safe, strong and continuously growing.”
As she has gotten older, Brandon has seen the impacts of the Federation in her everyday life – when she sees a JFC security truck as she drives past synagogues and other Jewish community gathering places, she said. This past year, she took a volunteer trip to Israel through the Federation and Birthright, which she thinks wouldn’t have happened without the support from “such a vibrant community,” she said.
Brandon said Super Sunday Kickoff is her “jam” and that she “loves the day,” so getting to participate in the planning process for the Federation’s annual campaign kickoff event was exciting for her.
“I think it’s so much fun to go out and have the vibrancy of the community around you while you’re raising dollars for the community,” she said. “So, sitting with the Federation staff and my fellow co-chairs, figuring out ways to bring people in, to make it fun (and) make it accessible for everyone, was really truly an honor to be a part of. I have been involved in the Federation for as long as I can remember. I kind of joke that it’s in my DNA, and this really felt like I had a pulse on the campaign before it really started.”
More than 1,200 people joined the raised $2,610,712 during the 2025 Super Sunday Kickoff event.
