The Hillel House’s Ride to Provide charity event held last weekend received a great deal of support.

Chairman Betsy Bertuzzi said the turnout was “fantastic. It exceeded our expectations.”

The ride brought a number of members of the Pioneer Valley’s Jewish community together.

“Several dozen people have come out here to support Hillel,” said Harold Berman, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts. “That’s a statement within itself.”

The participants were happy to “have a good time and support a good cause,” said David Berkman, president of the board of directors at the Lander Grinspoon Academy in Northampton. Others, like Amherst College professor Catherine Epstein, came because “it just sounded really fun.”

The money raised from this event will benefit the events in which Hillel students traditionally participate, such as Challah for a Dollah and Meals on Wheels.

The activity that will benefit most is the Alternative Spring Break program. As part of the program, students go to Louisiana to help rebuild the homes of the victims of Hurricane Katrina during their spring break. The Ride to Provide has helped make this trip more affordable.

At the post-ride celebration, Rabbi Saul Perlmutter announced that the event had raised over $30,000. Chairman Bertuzzi summed up the program as a “win-win situation” in which Hillel will give back to the community, as well as the less fortunate, with the money acquired through the ride’s success.