Hillel of San Diego fuels our community’s leadership pipeline.   I want to introduce you to Maya. If you’ve come to a Hillel event, you’ve probably seen her bustling around making sure everything runs smoothly. She’s our classic utility player – capable, smart, takes initiative, and eager to grow. A gift to any organization.   Flashback just a few years: Maya was sitting in my office as a student, talking about medical school. She was planning the biggest event at SDSU and thriving as a Jewish leader. Through this program planning, Maya learned budgeting, project management, delegation, and how to build a team.   In Maya, we saw talent and passion. At Hillel, we cultivate that talent and passion for Jewish peoplehood. We uplift leadership. We empower the next generation. I told Maya she was meant to be a Jewish professional and that when she was ready, we’d build a job for her.   Fast forward: Maya has just won the Jewish Federation of San Diego’s Pauline and Stanley Foster Young Leadership Award. She’s already been promoted at Hillel and her role elevated as she continues to grow as a leader. While Maya is extraordinary, she’s not out of the ordinary. We just hired another student leader, funny enough, also named Maya, who is thriving as a Jewish professional. And in fact, in the 6 years I’ve been at Hillel of San Diego, every single early-career professional who has worked at Hillel of San Diego still works in the Jewish world. We are literally fueling our Jewish community organizations’ staff. We are the pipeline. So when you invest in Hillel, you’re investing in future JCC or Jewish Family Services or Federation professionals, as well. A gift to Hillel is a gift that has massive returns for our community.

Empowering leadership is kind of our secret superpower at Hillel. Just last week, we hosted our Jewish Networking Hub event with over 200 students, alumni, and community members. Some of the smartest people I know traveled from Orange County and L.A. to be here. It meant the world and was so much fun reconnecting! Students had the opportunity to find a mentor, an internship, or simply flex their networking skills. Alumni and community members also had the opportunity to give back and connect with each other. This is a very unique, only-at-Hillel of San Diego program that is becoming a blueprint across the Hillel movement. When you give to Hillel, you fund innovative impact.   Hillel of San Diego is the pipeline. We are fueling the future of our Jewish community, and that is pretty powerful, indeed.   Thanks for being a part of it.   Warmly, Karen