A new year and Here for Good

Paula Filler, Campaign Chair

When I was asked to serve as chair of the 2022 Annual Community Campaign, I knew it would be a lot of work. While I am always up for a challenge, it was reassuring to hear that Jewish Federation would have a new annual community campaign director to plan and implement a campaign, and we do!

Our new campaign director, Kirk Wisemayer, and I have spent many hours over the summer assembling a campaign cabinet with whom much of the planning for this year’s campaign was accomplished. Some of you know those serving on the cabinet, but you will all see and hear much from them over the coming months as we roll out the campaign.

By now, you may have already received our initial campaign mailing for the 2022 Annual Community Campaign, Here for Good! It is a campaign we are all very excited about. We hope you will be as enthusiastic as we are by what your generosity will herald for Greater Jewish Naples. We have no campaign, no community, without you.

It is, of course, no coincidence that the beginning of our campaign year coincides with Rosh HaShanah. In fact, it is intentional. As we celebrate, in synagogue and at home, the creation of the world, the fact it was designed to be a work in progress and our covenant with the Almighty to complete it is clear.

We must bear in mind that part of our partnership in creation is to financially strengthen our community and the world. There is no better time to “seal the deal” each year than Rosh HaShanah.

Here for Good is our clarion call that we are not going anywhere, that there will always be Jewish life and community in Greater Naples. But it is also that which says we are partners in ensuring that the funds we raise here do good, improve lives, here in Greater Naples and throughout the Jewish world.

The Annual Community Campaign is Here for Good only because of you. It is the vehicle that allows those of us who support the campaign, in whatever capacity, to do more good in more places, and create more possibilities for more people through our collective impact than we could ever hope to do as individuals.

We all have much to be thankful for, and we can and must all do our part to fulfill our partnership to do good. This is what Here for Good means. We can all be thankful for the wonderful Jewish community we have created. We can sustain and grow it with our gifts to the campaign, and in so doing, we can give others reason to be thankful by letting them know there are Jews in Greater Naples who care for their well-being as members of our global family.

Be Here for Good — pledge your support to the 2022 Annual Community Campaign early and generously, and make the New Year sweet in ways only we can make possible, together.

May you and all you love be blessed for a sweet year, with warm wishes from the board and campaign cabinet of Jewish Federation of Greater Naples for a Shanah Tovah.