Hillel 818
ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION
Founded in 1960, Hillel 818 serves the Cal State University Northridge (CSUN), Pierce College, and Los Angeles Valley College communities, including many first-generation college students from immigrant households who commute daily to campus while working part-time jobs. Its mission is to build a meaningful Jewish community; engage students in Jewish life; combat antisemitism and antizionism; and enrich students’ lives so that they will enrich the Jewish people and the world. It engages 800 students per year through Jewish learning initiatives, Shabbat and holiday celebrations, arts and culture activities, Israel education, identity-based micro-communities, and fellowships.
FIELD OF INTEREST
grant programs
To promote and expand staff, invest in technology and maintenance to enhance operations of its new building, and increase its fundraising capacity, enabling Hillel 818 to engage more students in Jewish life and sustain its ambitious growth.
To launch LA Campuses United Against Antisemitism, multi-campus Hillel coalition (Hillel at UCLA, USC Hillel and Hillel 818) that will directly engage student leaders and thousands more in fighting antisemitism on college campuses. The program aims to develop a united effort for combatting antisemitism across college campuses in Los Angeles.
To support Hillel Kehillot (Communities), which will adapt Hillel 818’s successful virtual, student-led small interest-based groups for an in-person return to campus. The program allows for more flexibility to evolve as student interest and needs grow, ultimately enabling Hillel 818 to continue to meet the diverse needs of the students it serves.
To mitigate the economic hardship resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and to help them achieve long-term organizational sustainability
The Jewish Identity Project lays the groundwork for the next generation of diverse Jewish leaders by scaling up its program to engage hundreds of Jewish Russian, Persian, and Israeli college students in Jewish life through culturally specific social, religious, and educational programming.