Sharon A. Rudnick President Lev Silberstein Treasurer Erica Kopf UO Student President Ayla Bussel OSU Student President Board Members Kelly Baxter Menachemson Erin Essak Kopp Max Forer Gordon Lafer Connor Lasken Reut Livne-Tarandach Alex Menashe Matthew J. Witenstein Caleb Zipperstein Andy Gitelson Executive Director Brittany Furiate Assistant Director Rachel Chodorow-Reich OSU Director of Jewish Student Life Loren Murphy UO Director of Engagement Emma Katz Office Administrator Supported by: The 2017/2018 academic year was truly a recordbreaking year for us. I cannot thank all of you who invested so generously in Oregon Hillel, and our amazing staff and student leaders who make it possible, enough. Thanks to you our alumni, parents, friends, community members, The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, The Oregon Jewish Community Foundation, and the Jewish Federation of Lane County Oregon Hillel was able engage 605 Jewish undergraduate students (474 at UO and 131 at OSU) with at least one meaningful experience, interaction, or oneon-one personal meeting. 288 students (214 at UO and 74 at OSU) took on formal leadership roles, internships, or attended one of the many Hillel events or programs regularly! It has been a true pleasure and honor to work with such a dedicated team of talented professionals who put so much effort into building meaningful relationships with our students. These leaders inspire others to lead, learn, and live with a clear understanding of what Judaism means to each of our students on an individual and personal level. While there are so many great things to reflect on this past year, one true highlight was winning the Campus Partner of the Year award at Hillel International s staff conference for our Jewish/ Muslim learning series, Manzil/Midrash. To be recognized among so many incredible Hillel programs from around the world was truly humbling and an acknowledgment of the hard work and dedication of our student leaders and staff over the past five years. In addition to winning the Campus Partner Award, seeing the expansion and growth of the program at Oregon State has been truly incredible. With the hard work and dedication of our part-time staff, Rachel Chodorow-Reich, and the student interns and leadership board, Jewish student life in Corvallis is flourishing and each year we are working to increase the programs and resources we are offering. Again, none of the success we have achieved would have been possible without the commitment, generosity, support, and investment from all of those listed in this report. On behalf of all of the students that we serve at OSU and UO, the staff whose work you empower, and the Governing Board of Directors for Oregon Hillel - Todah Rabbah (Thank You) we hope we can count on your continued partnership in meeting our mission to build community on our campuses and inspire the next generation of leaders. Andy Gitelson, Executive Director
FROM OREGON TO ISRAEL AND BACK Loren Murphy, UO Director of Engagement Over the past year I have had the opportunity to meet hundreds of Jewish students at University of Oregon and Oregon State University. There were many successes through the year as well as many learning opportunities to help prepare us for the upcoming school year. Throughout the 2017-18 school year I was very excited to initiate, develop, and supervise a new Birthright Engagement Internship program. Through this program we hired 9 student leaders who helped us in bringing 43 students on their free trip to Israel with Taglit-Birthright, almost doubling our total number of Birthright participants from the previous year. One of the most exciting moments for me during the school year was overseeing Israel Block Parties on both of our campuses. This was especially meaningful as it was the first time Hillel hosted a large scale Israel event at Oregon State University. Over 500 students came to our University of Oregon Block Party and over 300 at our Oregon State University Block Party. We partnered with Artists 4 Israel, a non-profit organization that travels to different universities to share inspiration from Israel through art. The artists spray painted a custom mural 16 feet wide and custom painted t-shirts for any student. Nothing made me more happy than seeing our students being excited about a unique experience! I am excited that next year I will be taking on a new position with Oregon Hillel, serving as the Director of Engagement at the University of Oregon. I am looking forward to continuing the Engagement Internship program and also supervising our Birthright Engagement Internship on both campuses. Through our new engagement strategy our goal is to personally connect with 650 students at the University of Oregon this year, and to achieve this we will focus on giving more students the opportunity to be leaders in their communities, create compelling programs and provide services to them in areas of their personal interest, and continue to serve as their Jewish Home Away From Home. To all of our student leaders who helped our team grow and expand to what it is today, thank you! Without these community leaders we would have no purpose as an organization and nothing brings me more joy than seeing young people develop and grow through their time at college. Israel Events & Engagement 23 19 Students visited Israel for free on Hillel's Birthright Israel 45 667 6 Israel programs and events held on campus Total Event Attendance 34 427 3 Israel Student Leader Positions
I have been involved with Oregon Hillel at Oregon State for a few years now, but in the past year I have become much more engaged thanks to Rachel, Hillel s staff member in Corvallis, because she has made a huge impact on my life, and by and large in the Jewish student community at OSU. Rachel is completely and fully dedicated to ensuring all students and community members feel safe and welcome. In working with Rachel, I have become one of the leaders who organizes our monthly Rosh Chodesh. Whenever I am having a hard time, or any other students are struggling, Rachel will make herself available to help. She is somehow present for us all, while maintaining the functioning of Hillel on OSU campus! She has enriched the Jewish community here at OSU, and facilitates inclusion. I cannot describe how deeply I appreciate her presence, and the impact she and Hillel has made in the lives of so many here in Corvallis. Annie Lesney, OSU 18 JEWISH BEAVER NATION GROWING Rachel Chodorow-Reich, OSU Director of Jewish Student Life We are so proud of how much we accomplished at Oregon State this year. This year Hillel at Oregon State was able to connect with 131 Jewish Beavers throughout the year! Our twice a month Shabbat dinners averaged 60 students every week and thanks to the support of Oregon Hillel s Seder Society, 70 students and community members were able to join for a FREE mid-week Passover Seder in the heart of Corvallis. It has been incredible to see the number of Jewish students finding a community and home with Hillel increase each quarter and every year, and it has been an honor to work to increase the activity and sense of pride among OSU s Jewish student community. In addition to our tremendous growth we have also established a warm, welcoming, and supportive community. We have formed a group of strong, motivated young Jewish leaders who are passionate about Judaism and dedicated to creating our Jewish home away from home. We had our first Women s Retreat, as well as monthly Rosh Chodesh Circles, thanks to the Portland Federation s Women s Giving Circle. We began a new partnership with Keshet (a community building program for the Jewish LGBTQ community) and have invested in the creation of the Alpha Epsilon Pi chapter through helping send their members to national trainings and providing funding for their weekend leadership retreat on the Oregon Coast. Thanks to the support of our families, friends, Portland and Lane County Federations and Hillel International I am very excited to share that I will be increasing to 25 hours per week for the 2018/2019 academic year. As our time on campus increases so to does our ability to better serve our Jewish student community and the entire Oregon State community I truly cannot thank each and every one of you for your support we truly could not do it without you! I look forward to connecting with you if you are in town or at or annual family weekend brunch.