Today, you can boost Jewish students’ well-being

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Day 1 of Hillel Global Giving Week is Here!

This past year has been a journey of resilience and transformation for many Jewish college students. Today, you can help shape those journeys. When you give during Hillel Global Giving Week, your donation will be MATCHED dollar for dollar up to $55,000 thanks to the Leichtag Foundation and Hillel International.

Meet Shayna.

Shayna is a second-year psychology student at UC San Diego. Even before setting foot on campus, she knew she wanted to find a strong Jewish community—and she found that at Hillel. From the summer after her high school graduation, Shayna jumped in, eager to connect and contribute.

As she immersed herself in campus life, she became passionate about mental health and emotional well-being. She brought her ideas to create a student-led wellness initiative to the Hillel team at UCSD, who welcomed her vision with open arms.

I was met with a community that wanted to make my wishes come true.

Working within Hillel’s Wellness program, Shayna  launched the Weekly Wellness Hour—a recurring Monday evening program for students to relax, recharge, and reconnect. From sound baths and paint nights to vision boards and meditation, Hillel’s Weekly Wellness Hour has quickly become a much-needed sanctuary for Jewish students on campus.

I felt a sense of empowerment that I don’t think I would feel anywhere else.

Your gift today makes stories like Shayna’s possible. 

Did you know that Hillel of San Diego, through a collaboration with JFS, provides free mental-health therapy for Jewish students thanks in part to an anonymous community grantor and donors just like you? Your support helps students feel seen, heard, and supported.

Give now and double your impact for students like Shayna.

P.S. Many people choose to give from their assets- stocks, mutual funds, gifts from their IRA, and grants from their donor-advised funds. Please contact Lisa Kalal, Senior Advancement Officer, at lkalal@hillelsd.org and 619-764-5992 to learn more.

Other Stories From Hillel

You Made it Possible. Now We Must Sustain it.

December 21, 2025

Over the past five years, and especially since October 7th, this community has shown up in extraordinary ways. Your leadership made it possible for Hillel of San Diego to respond immediately and decisively in moments of crisis, expanding support, strengthening safety, and meeting students in their most vulnerable moments. Thank G-d you did. Because of you, students know exactly where to turn — and they know they will not be turned away.

Why Hillel of San Diego Matters Right Now

December 19, 2025

As we enter the final days of Hillel of San Diego’s year-end efforts to raise $500,000 by December 31, our family is proud to stand with this community and publicly join this effort to strengthen Jewish life on San Diego’s campuses. We do so while holding two truths at once. We are celebrating the light and resilience of Hanukkah, even as we grieve the tragedies and violence that have shaken Jewish communities in recent days. Joy and heartbreak coexist. For Jewish students, that tension is not abstract but rather something they are navigating every day on campus

Not Our Grandparents’ Hillel

December 17, 2025

When we were children, our grandparents posed a simple but enduring question: If the Jewish people don’t take care of the Jewish people, who will? That question inspired our parents to lead and to give, and today, as third-generation Hillel supporters, it sits squarely before us.

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