| As we help kick off Hillel of San Diego’s year-end fundraiser, I can’t help but reflect on the moment that first made me and Sheava believe in this important work. It was the day the Glickman Hillel Center at UCSD opened its doors after twenty years of persistence. I saw what it means for Jewish young adults to have a place they can count on, and what a community can accomplish together. That is why Sheava and I became supporters, and why we remain committed as Hillel of San Diego has grown into one of the most impactful Hillels in the country. Today, Hillel of San Diego is growing, reaching students who need it most. And now we have an opportunity, and a responsibility, to ensure it stays strong for the next generation. For this reason, our family is helping launch Hillel of San Diego’s year-end fundraiser: a bold community effort to raise $500,000 before December 31st to sustain and expand Hillel’s impact across our campuses. To make this fundraiser even more ambitious, the first $50,000 raised from this community will be matched dollar-for-dollar by an anonymous donor. The college years are the moment when young Jews quietly make the choice that shapes their future: Does being Jewish become a core part of their lives, or does it fade into the background? Hillel gives students that platform to shape their – and our – Jewish future. Jewish students face real challenges in campus life, and sometimes it is easy to be pessimistic about the future of Jewish peoplehood. I prefer to ask: What could go right? Over the coming weeks, several families, including ours, will share why we’ve chosen to step forward with intergenerational support for Hillel. We are asking you to join us. Invest in Jewish life at its most formative stage. Ensure that every Jewish student in San Diego can find community, strength, and pride, no matter what the world throws their way. This is our moment to ask not what could go wrong, but what could go right. And the answer is: with the support of this community, so much. Over 3,000 students each year can experience the joy of Jewish life at Hillel, sometimes for the first time, and carry that pride forward into adulthood. We can help raise up this next generation of Jewish leaders who are doing the work to step forward with courage and purpose. We can strengthen young Jews’ connection to Israel and give them the skills and confidence to stand up to antisemitism. I invite you to stand with us, and I challenge you to join us in this ambitious goal. Your partnership is what turns possibility into reality, ensuring that everything that can go right for Jewish students does go right, and that they step into their roles as the Jewish leaders of tomorrow. Warmly Bryan & Sheava Wax |
