Thank You - Oregon Hillel

2014 Annual Report
Oregon.Hillel.org
OREGON HILLEL STUDENTS BUILD SUSTAINABLE SCHOOL IN GUATEMALA
hours north of Guatemala City – to help build a school
with what Gitelson described as “100 percent zero waste.”
Along with volunteering with Long Way Home, Oregon
Hillel teamed up UC Santa Cruz Hillel and another nonprofit, One Million Lights, to raise the funds necessary
to purchase 150 solar lanterns to give out to the children,
teachers, and staff at the school in Comalapa.
The school will serve 300 K-12 students when completed
and will also house a vocational school, designed to
educate adults about green building techniques and
recycling.
THIS
past spring break Oregon Hillel took 10
UO students to Guatemala over the recent
spring break to volunteer and help build a school entirely
from recycled materials.
It was an absolutely life-changing week and we did the
entire Duck family proud in meeting our mission by
allowing students to explore and develop their Jewish
identity, build leadership skills, practice the Jewish value
of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) and empowering
Jewish students at the UO to become active leaders in their
greater campus community.
The entire group came together to raise $2,500 towards the
cost of this experience and each participant paid a portion
of their fees. Additional funding was received through
grants from Repair the World & Hillel International,
Oregon Hillel traveled to Guatemala to volunteer with
Long Way Home, a non-profit group that encourages the
use of sustainable materials to build self-sufficient schools
in order to educate and empower the local communities
to provide a better future for themselves. The volunteers
worked in Comalapa, Guatemala – a rural village two
UO Junior Jenna Barasch reflected,
“I have seen just how much of help we were
this week, creating so much progress on the
new school building as well as bringing the
lights to the students and staff.”
Dear Hillel Family,
Andy Gitelson
Executive Director
Amanda K. Weiss
Director of Jewish
Leadership & Learning
Rebecca Marx
Director of Student
Engagement
Governing Board of
Directors
Executive Board
Sharon A. Rudnick
President
Kelly Baxter
Menachemson
Secretary
Shoshana Cohen
Treasurer
Terra Zicklin
Student President
Members
Stephanie Harris
Max Liebreich
Joshua Losner
Barry Rubenstein
Kenneth Singer, MD
Craig Starr
Amy Steckel
Laura Ticho
Becky Winard
With Support From:
As President of the Governing Board
of Oregon Hillel, I am proud to tell
you that FY 2014 was one of progress,
relationship building, learning, and fun
for our organization and our students.
Andy, Amanda and our four student
engagement interns engaged well over
600 Jewish students during the year
Students leading their community in celebrating Shabbat.
through thoughtful programing around
Jewish learning and values, Israel, and the celebration of holidays and rituals. Particularly
given the recent frightening and distressing events in Israel and the Middle East, we have
engaged our students in far-ranging and sometimes-difficult conversations about Israel to
help them learn and sort out their own views, and we have supported our Jewish students and
organizations in responding appropriately to anti-Israel and anti-Semitic actions that have
occurred on campus.
At our Leadership Council dinner meetings, the leaders of all of our Jewish organizations on
campus came together twice a quarter to share a meal with Jewish leaders from around the
state and to hear their perspective and their advice to the next generation of leaders. We sent 53
students, a record number, to Israel on Taglit Birthright trips in both December and June, and
saw their relationships with Judaism and Israel transform.
Our students engaged in a number of Tzedakah initiatives including volunteering at Food for
Lane County, baking and selling challahs to support the homeless, and an alternative Spring
Break trip to Guatemala to build a school. There was also plenty of time for fun at Ski Retreat,
the Purim party and hanging out with friends at the Hillel House.
Our regular Friday night Shabbat services and dinner consistently drew over 100 students each
week, and our student-led Seders saw similar numbers coming together to share matzo and tell
the Passover story. And the Min Zidell Matzo Ball Soup Hotline kept us busy delivering soup,
comfort and support to our sick (or not so sick but just needing some TLC) students throughout
the year-over 400 bowls delivered!
Our student leaders continue to amaze me with their commitment to and love for Judaism and
Israel, their willingness to take on hard questions and to stand up for what they believe, and
their interest in discovering their own Jewishness. At the same time, they know that Hillel is
their home away from home, and we are always here to listen, advise, or provide a meal or a
ride to the airport.
As we transition into FY 2015, we have great plans for Hillel. We have hired a new Director
of Engagement, Becca Marx, who is returning to her alma mater from a job at San Diego
State Hillel. Becca will supervise five student interns focusing on increasing our engagement
with Jewish students on campus, and Amanda will focus on leadership program development,
and Jewish learning. We are blessed to have someone with Becca’s experience, initiative and
creativity join our already outstanding staff. This additional staff will also allow us to begin to
serve and support the Jewish students at Oregon State University, who deserve to have Jewish
life flourish on their campus as well by facilitating monthly Shabbat dinners & recruiting for
birthright trips.
We could not accomplish any of this without your sustained support. Adding another full
time staff member is a stretch for us, but one we must make to continue to engage and
support Oregon’s Jewish students, to give them the opportunity to learn and to explore their
Jewishness, to make Jewish friends, and to develop into the Jewish leaders of their generation.
From the Governing Board, the Student Board, Andy, Amanda, Becca, and especially our
students, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
B’Shalom,
Sharon A. Rudnick
President, Oregon Hillel
2013-2014
has been an extremely
successful year for Oregon
Hillel with regards to both growth in student leadership and
a diversification of Judaic programming. Enthusiastically,
we hired four student interns who, with their initiative and
innovation, combined with the dedicated work of the Oregon
Hillel Student Leadership Board, engaged over 600 students
throughout the year. New initiatives created on campus have
also spurred great interest amongst our students; this year we
welcomed Rosh Chodesh celebrations, BROgramming, Israel
Appreciation week, and Campus Conversations into our
programming calendar, challenging our students with strong
Judaic content at each event. Our student-led weekly Shabbat
services continue to draw in an average of 100 students
per week, and we are thrilled to have had 50 students and
community members join us for a Kabbalat Shabbat and
dinner during the month of July.
Outside the building, Oregon Hillel continues to make its
mark. Our Tzedek Committee inspired the collection of
over 360 pounds of food for our Student Food Pantry at
the Episcopal Campus Ministry, the creation of over 4,000
meals at Food for Lane County, and an increase in Oregon
Hillel’s participation in Sunday Breakfasts for the Eugene
homeless community, fundraising for Save a Child’s Heart,
and awareness about world genocide via a partnership with
Jewish World Watch. We brought 47 U of O students and
3 Oregon State students to Israel through our Birthright
programs (held in both the winter and the summer) who have
taken leadership roles in many of our new initiatives. In Sun
River, we hosted 57 students at our annual ski retreat who
took part in alternative service options, a tzedek program,
and student-led baking, snow-globe making, and creative
arts (all after a day of skiing and snowboarding!). At the
University of Oregon, we continue to host students at our
once-a-term Shabbat on Campus and Passover Seders (held
at Global Scholars Hall), attracting between 110-160 students
at each event. Even our university’s newspaper The Daily
Emerald, has noticed what we’re doing and featured Oregon
Hillel’s activities in more than five articles during the school
year.
But we’re not done yet! 2014-2015 promises to be even more
exciting with the hiring of new interns (we now have five)
and a newly elected seven-member Hillel Student Leadership
Board. Our student leaders have created strong goals of
engaging even more students, sending over 70 students to
Israel (registration for our Winter trip opens September
Jewish student leaders from around campus meet with
Jordan Schnitzer through our Jewish Leadership Council series.
10th at israeloutdoors.com!), hosting over 70 students at
our annual ski retreat, increasing our Shabbat attendance,
and creating avenues for new initiatives created by and for
students. I am thrilled to have been chosen as one of 12 Hillel
professionals from around North America to participate in
the two year Engage to Educate initiative in its pilot year.
Thanks to this prestigious new program I will continue to
develop my skills as a Jewish educator on campus so that
I can meet our mission of continuing to add challenging
Jewish content to our Hillel programming, to encouraging
our students to ask questions about their Judaism and to
discover new answers while learning together. Oregon
Hillel is committed to creating stronger programming by
creating even stronger student-led committees who will help
to produce programming for students who want to see how
many ways that there are to love Jewish lives both on and off
campus. I am also thrilled to have been chosen to participate
as one of the inaugural class of Taglit: Birthright Fellows.
This program is designed to enhance my ability to lead the
birthright Israel experience as well as providing additional
opportunities to keep returning birthright participants
engaged with their campus community following this once in
a lifetime experience.
We are so excited for what the new year had to offer and can’t
wait to start it off with all of our new and returning students
during welcome week, Rosh Hashanah 2014, and welcome
back Shabbat!
Thank you to our 2013/2014 & 2014/2015 Student Leadership Boards
for your commitment!.
Go Ducks!
Amanda K. Weiss
Director of Jewish Learning and Leadership
[email protected]
! Thank You! ‫ הָּבַר הָדֹוּת‬Thank You! ‫ הָּבַר הָדֹוּת‬Thank You!
THANK
You!
‫ הָּבַר הָדֹוּת‬Thank You! ‫ הָּבַר הָדֹוּת‬Thank You! Thank You
YOU You! ‫ הָּבַר הָדֹוּת‬Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! T
‫ הָּב‬Thank
To our alumni and friends for investing in Jewish life on campus through your
support of Oregon Hillel. All of the wonderful accomplishments we achieved were
due to your support – we cannot thank you enough!
*a number next to the name denotes the class year for alumni we have on file*
ou! $35,000+
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J. Hasson
Dr. George
Bodner (‘40)
The Jewish Federation of Greater Joy M. Bruce (‘63)
Gary Hochman
Arielle Brown (‘13)
Portland
Shoshana F. Cohen
Rabbi Daniel & Carol Isaak
Barbara Burger
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Stephen Laveson &
Milton C. Cohen
Leigh & Leslie Dolin
Lesley Isenstein
Bonnie Cohn &
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$25,000 - $10,000
Josh & Amy Frankel
(‘06)
Martin & Lilly Levinson
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Jackson
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hank You! Thank You! Thank You! ‫ הָּבַר הָדֹוּת‬Thank You! ‫ֹוּת‬
Sharon Ungerleider
Steven Ungerleider
$9,999 - $2,500
Mark & Christi Goodman
The Jewish Federation of Lane
County
Repair the World, INC.
Sigma Alpha Mu Fund - OJCF
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k You! Thank You! ‫ הָּבַר הָדֹוּת‬Thank
Helene Coulter
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Davia Rubenstein (‘54)
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You! ‫ הָּבַר הָדֹוּת‬Thank
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$2,499-$1,000
Max Birnbach Charity Fund –
OJCF
Andy Gitelson
Paul & Nancy Gitelson
Margot & Kenny Helphand
Hillel International
Israel on Campus Coalition
Howard & Wendy Liebreich
Max Liebreich
Men of Reform Judaism
Oregon Israel Fund - OJCF
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Charitable Supporting
Foundation – OJCF
Jay & Sherri Seidmon
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$999-$500
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! Thank You! ThankThank
You!
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you to the following parents for joining this year’s Parent’s Club and
PARENT’S
making an investment in Jewish campus life. Thanks to your investment, Jewish
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life on campus is flourishing – we couldn’t have done it without you!
CLUB
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Oregon Hillel bringing students to volunteer at an animal rescue farm
as part of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland’s Mitzvah Day.
Lending a helpin
g hand packagin
g meals at Food
for Lane County.
I
OREGON HILLEL WELCOMES OUR
NEWEST MEMBER
OF THE FAMILY,
BECCA MARX
AM THRILLED to be
joining the Oregon Hillel
team as the Director of
Engagement. This position
combines two of my greatest
passions: building Jewish
community and the University
of Oregon. I am a proud Jew
and a proud Duck, and can’t
wait to connect with and
involve as many Jewish Ducks
as possible in the special
community that is Oregon
Hillel. I graduated from UO in
2012 with a degree in Religious Studies, and believe
that every Jewish student has something to gain
culturally, spiritually, or socially by being involved in
Jewish life on campus in some capacity.
My mission is to infuse creativity and diversity into
our program so that every student can find their
unique place in this community of roughly 1,600
Jewish Ducks. This will be achieved in collaboration
with our five engagement interns. This August at the
Hillel International convening in St. Louis the interns
and I will develop an engagement model and strategy
to be implemented for the 2014-2015 academic year to
work towards fulfilling this mission.
I have already started to gauge student interest by
hosting a Shabbat at my home in which nearly 20
students and young adults attended. Some ideas
are already in the works! Mitzvah Milers will be a
philanthropic running club that meets weekly and
chooses a charity race to run as a team every term.
Mitzvah Milers will incorporate a couch-to-5k
training model so novice and experienced runners
alike are welcome to participate! Want to learn how
to play Mahjong? Enough students have expressed
interest in learning so there will be weekly Mahjong
meet ups! I will also be working to create a new
initiative aimed at engaging the Jewish graduate, postdoc and 20-30 something’s of Eugene. There are also
talks of revamping the Hillel Tailgating experience,
building a community garden, and monthly Shabbat
brunches.
pus in Israel
Leading the cam
advocacy and ed
ucation.
If I’m not biking around town, running on Pre’s trail,
or tending to my backyard chickens, chances are I’m
at Hillel! If you would like to get involved with any of
the initiatives mentioned above, have a great idea you
would like to see come to fruition, or just want to meet
in person over a cup of coffee, please don’t hesitate to
stop by my office or email me.
Becca Marx
Director of Student Engagement
[email protected]
AT
OREGON
HILLEL
one of our goals
is to empower
students with the
understanding that
each and every
day they have a
responsibility to
repair the world
(Tikkun Olam)
and to practice
the various
mitzvot that help
to build community and positively impact their friends,
their campus, and their communities. We embrace the
philosophy that by connecting students to each other and
inspiring student leadership, we are not only creating the
Jewish student community today, but we are also planting
the seeds for stronger Jewish communities tomorrow.
We are steadfast in our commitment to helping students
explore their Jewish identity in their own way and showing
them that Judaism is not just a religion, but a way of life.
For the last two years we have focused on serving as a
“Jewish Home Away from Home” for the 1,600 Jewish
students at the University of Oregon and it has been
truly amazing to witness the transformation of Oregon
Hillel. Just a few years ago we averaged 30-40 students
for Shabbat dinner and services, we sent 18-20 students
to Israel each year, and the vast majority of students saw
Hillel as a place to go for the occasional social program
or religious service. Today, Oregon Hillel is at the
forefront of creating new initiatives that engage previously
unconnected students. This past academic year we had
meaningful, personal connections with over 600 students!
From the 100+ students that attend our free weekly
Shabbat dinners; to the 400 bowls of matzo ball soup
delivered for free thanks to the Min Zidell Matzo Ball
Israel Advocacy
: Our delegation
at the AIP
where the U of
O earned Campu AC National Policy Conference,
s Advocates of
the Year
for the 3 rd straig
ht year.
Soup Hotline; to the
27 students who joined me at the AIPAC Policy
Conference in Washington, DC (where we won campus
advocates of the year for the 3rd straight year); to the
53 students who traveled to Israel for free on Hillel’s
Birthright Israel trips, and the 10 students who joined me
in Guatemala over spring break to help build a school, it
is safe to say that Jewish life and values are flourishing on
campus and in Eugene.
What has impressed me the most is the dedication of our
student community (including our student leadership
board and interns) and our small but mighty staff, the
leadership of our Governing Board of Directors, the
support of the University, and the investment of our
parents, alumni, families and friends. Thanks to all of you,
and because of our work at Oregon Hillel,the University
of Oregon is becoming a destination point for Jewish
students from all around the country who seek a great
education and a vibrant Jewish community. We could not
accomplish these amazing results without your continued
support.
We look forward to seeing see you on campus or in
the community and please know that all of our great
achievements are because of you!
GO DUCKS!
Andy Gitelson
Executive Director
[email protected]
Creating friendships that will last a lifetime.
NONPROFIT ORG
US POSTAGE
PAID
EUGENE, OR
Permit No. 718
Oregon Hillel
1059 Hilyard Street
Eugene, OR 97401-3716
(541) 343-8920 Phone
(541) 343-4552 Fax
Oregon.Hillel.org
Stay up to date with
all of our activities!
Find us on:
@oregonhillel
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