Date: Jun 22, 2007

Hofstra Hillel named Student Group of the Year

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY – Hofstra University Hillel was recently named Student Group of the Year, 2006-2007, by Hofstra’s Student Government Association.  This is the third time in four years Hofstra Hillel has won this award.

“With students, staff, and lay leaders working together as partners, we continue to expand our program to provide Jewish students with a wide variety of exciting opportunities to discover, explore, and celebrate being Jewish,” said Rabbi Meir Mitelman, the group’s executive director.
 
 “With the teamwork of staff and students, Hillel is able to engage Jewish students in Jewish activities, which is important for creating future Jewish leaders in the community after graduation," said Ilyse Whitney Davidson, incoming president of Hofstra Hillel.

Some of the highlights of this past year include:

•    Repairing homes in New Orleans that were devastated by Hurricane Katrina on our first-ever Alternative Winter Break.
•    Thanks & Giving Project, in which more than 400 participants wrote over 600 thank you notes to members of the University community and raised $500 for people in need.
•    Campus-wide celebration of Israel Independence Day.
•    Ongoing Informal Jewish Learning, a panel of rabbinical students, and an evening of Jewish Mysticism and Magic with Arthur Kurzweil.
•    Celebration of Shabbat and holidays, including a Passover Chocolate Model Seder.
•    Commemorations of Kristallnacht and Holocaust Remembrance Day.
•    Social events, including comedians, Cabaret Night, and sports.
•    Projects to engage unaffiliated Jewish students, including residence hall programs and staffing tables in the Student Center and campus quads.
•    Student participation in Taglit – birthright israel, AIPAC National Policy Conference, Hillel’s International Student Leaders Assembly, and more.

Hofstra Hillel’s mission is to enrich the lives of Jewish students so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world.  Hofstra Hillel student leaders, professionals, and lay leaders are dedicated to creating a pluralistic, welcoming and inclusive environment for Jewish college students, where they are encouraged to grow intellectually, spiritually, and socially.

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students find their edge to succeed in more than 140 undergraduate and 155 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business, communication, education and allied human services, and honors studies, and a School of Law.