Today is the Final Day of Hillel Global Giving Week!
It’s not too late to make a difference!
When you give today, your gift will be MATCHED dollar for dollar up to $55,000 thanks to the Leichtag Foundation and Hillel International.
We are just $3,600 away from reaching our goal—you can help get us there!
Meet Sam.
Sam is a graduate student at UC San Diego who came to campus with a clear goal: to find his Jewish community.
Being a grad student is a unique experience and stage in life. One day, he received a message from Stephanie Heimler, a founding member of Hillel’s graduate student program.
She invited me to join a group of graduate students for a “Hike & Brew” event. I felt I had found “my people.” I soon caught their leadership “fever” and joined the grad student board.
In the past two years, Hillel programming has expanded significantly. Because of support from donors like YOU, Hillel’s Jewish Grad Network was born—a student-led and staff-supported initiative explicitly designed for Jewish graduate students to connect, share Jewish experiences, and build a strong Jewish graduate student community.
Through the Jewish Grad Network, Sam participated in an exclusive graduate student torah study program, Jewish Learning Fellowship (JLF), an experience that left a lasting impact:
“As someone who has always been passionate about Jewish learning, I was excited to be a part of it. That grad JLF was a great opportunity to meet a wide variety of Jewish graduate students, experience some of the diversity within Judaism, and develop strong, trusting relationships. I felt lucky to learn about different Jewish perspectives. It helped open my eyes to what a welcoming Jewish community can be.”
Feeling the power of community firsthand, Sam decided to step up. He joined the leadership team and began helping plan events, growing programs from occasional gatherings to monthly events with significant participation.
What started as Shabbat dinners with just 5–10 people quickly grew to 35–40 Jewish graduate students gathering together at each event. And we’re not done yet.
“This year, we are focused not only on offering monthly events but also on more vigorously engaging graduate students from across all San Diego campuses. We’re scheduling events at USD and SDSU, not just UCSD. And, we’re planning fun social activities like happy hours and trivia nights in central San Diego locations.”
You can help grow communities like Sam’s.
Your gift today supports students who seek a sense of belonging, ways to grow as Jewish leaders, and helps them create a meaningful and joyful Jewish life, one that will last long after grad school.
There’s still time. Give now to DOUBLE your impact—and help us reach our goal!
P.S. Your pledge will count during Hillel Global Giving Week! Pledge now and send your gift later via your donor-advised fund, IRA account, or gift of stock. To learn more, reply to this email or contact me at lkalal@hillelsd.org or 619-764-5992.
