Laugh Your Way to Giving Raises $1.56 Million for the Jewish Federation!

1,400 people, two Jewish guys from LA, and one camel can’t be wrong. "Laugh Your Way to Giving" was our Jewish Federation’s most successful campaign launch yet! 

Seattle Jews filled Benaroya Hall to the brim. Everyone there, from Birthright alumni to Kline Galland residents, laughed, cheered and mingled at Seattle’s biggest Jewish gathering EVER.

Together, we raised $1.56 million for local and overseas Jewish agencies, programming and initiatives supported by the Community Campaign. This record-breaking number demonstrates that even in tough times, our community is extraordinarily generous.

Bryan Fogel and Sam Wolfson of Jewtopia anchored the evening (though the life-sized camel promoting the upcoming Israel Unplugged trip vied for biggest laughs), but there were plenty of touching, serious moments, from Rabbi Weiner’s whimsical D’var Torah to an emotion-filled video highlighting three stories of our impact.

The Sulmans, family chairs of the event, wove a beautiful story about how the Jewish Federation has touched every one of their lives for close to four decades. After talking about how Jewish programs in Seattle have impacted her family, Barbara Sulman explained, “All of the organizations and programs I mentioned receive significant, if not all of their funding from the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle.”

Her speech provided a perfect local complement to Shelley Bensussen’s discussion of the Jewish Federation’s impact across the world, from Seattle to Israel to the Former Soviet Union. “I don’t think I have to tell you how passionate I feel about the importance of the Jewish Federation and all that it does: to keep the Jewish community here and worldwide united, as a responder when Jews are faced with uncertainty and adversity, ” said Bensussen, in a heartfelt plea to encourage Jewish philanthropy.

Jewtopia put on a show about the quirks of Jewish culture that had everyone crying with laughter: hard not to laugh when they’re cracking jokes about how a Jew’s purpose in life is to fit as much food as possible in the freezer or engaging the audience to help them explain why each and every table in a restaurant is the wrong table. We were an audience unlike any Bryan and Sam had ever had before. We made them laugh with our sheer numbers (almost double their normal audience size) and with our impressive knowledge of obscure Yiddish food, like petach.

The dessert reception after the show provided a wonderful opportunity to schmooze and laugh and eat any one of the dozens of sweet bites in the lobby. The feeling of community was a final reminder of how successful we can be when we all band together to show our support for Jewish causes.

Thanks to everyone who came for helping the Jewish Federation usher in a new year with grace, laughter, and joy: L’Shana Tova!

Click the photos to view or see the gallery.

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