It’s why partnerships are so important to us. Over the last year and a half we’ve focussed on renewing our partnerships with many organizations and we are seeing young people inspired to continue being involved in Jewish life post-college as a result.
I want to highlight a special partnership with the Jewish Federation, Israeli Consulate, and the House of Israel where Hillel trained young people to serve as ambassadors at the House of Israel. We have students who now represent the Jewish community every week in the International village of Balboa Park at the House of Israel. Through this partnership with Federation, Hillel’s Israel Fellows are also serving as mentors to Federation’s shinshinim and helping lead our community’s Celebrate Israel San Diego on May 15th.
In order to address student food insecurity, we are in the early stages of a partnership with Jewish Family Service that helps ensure students have access to nutritious and freezer stable meals at all times. More on this in the future, but already we are seeing this transform Hillel. You’d be surprised by how many students are struggling and come to Hillel because they know it is a reliable place to get food.
We are also grateful for our Mentorship Program with the Jewish Collaborative (J.Co). We have over 25 students currently in paired mentorships with community professionals. Through the program, our young people are gaining valuable insight and support as they enter the workforce from a Jewish mentor who is helping them succeed.
And for the upcoming JCC Maccabi Games, Hillel is partnering with the JCC to ensure participants can connect with Hillel students while at the games. From coaching to serving as role models for teens—Hillel is showing up and supporting this community opportunity. (I strongly encourage everyone to get involved with JCC Maccabi, it’s an incredible experience.)
We focus our high holidays on getting students connected to a synagogue– we introduce students to our community’s Rabbis and we provide transportation and tickets for every student. We do this so that when students leave college, they already know which synagogue will be their home.
The Leichtag Foundation and the Jewish Community Foundation also serve as partners in our shared work to support the next generation across the entire county. And there are so many other examples of partnership for which we are so proud and grateful. This letter would be way too long if I listed them all.
At the end of the day, San Diego is a big small town. As our young people enter into their adult lives, knowing where to go to do Jewish (however they want) is central to our mission to inspire the next generation.
