“When The Going Gets Tough…
by Gary Aidekman, UJC President

…the tough get going.” How many times have we heard that bromide?

Hard as it may be to believe, I played high school football. Our team won a few but usually we came up short. What was my position? Middle linebacker. Frankly, I was essentially cannon fodder… back then I was 5’8” and weighed 160 lbs. I wasn’t particularly fast either. Most times I was happy to briefly get in the opponent’s way.

Each week at the pep talk just before the game I heard that phrase. Maybe I just wasn’t tough enough…to me those words meant another afternoon of facing 200-pound tackles, landing on my tail, and collecting fresh bruises. I learned that tough was important but so was height, weight, speed, talent, and a very good team.

This past year when we were faced with a very troubled economy, I began to hear that old phrase again. But this time, it no longer sounded like a cliché. This time it was a very apt description of our UJC MetroWest lay and professional team. Unlike my high school days, I now get to play with a team of all-stars. And they have a winning “compassionate toughness” that comes from complete dedication to our mission.

Here’s an example from last year…right from the start, when we realized the economy would take a serious downturn, we mobilized UJC MetroWest and our agency network to respond with services for those who were losing their jobs or were otherwise deeply impacted economically. We dipped into our reserves and raised additional funds for MetroWest HELPS. Our all-star team put it all together in a couple of weeks…an incredible performance under pressure. And we have not stopped. We know this coming year, regardless of “green shoots,” will be difficult for many, and we’re taking steps to maintain and improve our response.

Another example…during the winter lull in the UJA Campaign, we had already been through many difficult solicitations. Quite often we talked with donors who just could not make a commitment while the economy was so uncertain. Some donors had faced serious financial reversals. An undisciplined, weak team might have given up on our Campaign goals. Not our Campaign team. Some of our best and brightest, our past Campaign chairs and current Campaign leadership, got together and developed a plan to inspire our donors and rally our Campaign workers. But developing a plan is never enough. These tough-minded Campaign leaders, along with dedicated staff, executed with remarkable precision and success. As a result of the Campaign challenge, we mitigated what would have been a very serious decrease in dollars raised, and achieved a Campaign total much better than we might have.

As one who has been knocked down a few times, let me tell you it is wonderful to be part of an incredible team that can take a hit and still drive hard to the goal line. I feel great that as we start a new year, we have a deep bench of skilled leaders, lay and staff, who will continue to creatively meet the challenges our Jewish community faces. Our MetroWest team is tough and skilled. We’re going to have a successful year.

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