At Hillel Milwaukee, the impact of the Annual Campaign is ever-present.
The Annual Campaign of Milwaukee Jewish Federation has a very real impact on the lives of Milwaukee-area young adults and students, with results at Hillel Milwaukee including improved safety, education and support.
Hillel Milwaukee is one of the partner agencies that Milwaukee Jewish Federation assists through its Annual Campaign
“We have been helping to organize the students and advocate for them,” said Rabbi Joshua Herman, acknowledging that post-Oct. 7 is a different world. “That’s standing up to the administration, and that’s offering education and support for the students.”
He added: “Student safety has been our main concern, and security has been a big priority of the Federation and Federation has been there every step of the way.”
Milwaukee Jewish Federation helped galvanize the community around Hillel Milwaukee students, during the encampment last year, Herman said. “Federation picked up the bill for a big community Shabbat dinner so our students wouldn’t feel alone, within earshot of the encampment, and the Jewish community showed up, and Miryam spoke,” he said, referring to Miryam Rosenzweig, president and CEO of Milwaukee Jewish Federation. “It was a really beautiful moment.”
Meanwhile, student engagement remains the centerpiece. He tells a story of one student who wasn’t very invested in their Jewish identity, but soon after Oct. 7 they showed up at an event – now they’re one of Milwaukee Hillel’s most engaged students. “She found her people and found her place and has made it her own,” he said.
“We’ve got a great student board and a great crowd of student leaders who are doing all sorts of fun, engaging, programming everything from silly Shabbat dinners, like when they had a Wild, Wild West Shabbat last week, to we had 5 dogs running around. Because they wanted puppy de-stress before midterms!”
There’s more serious learning, too. More than 45 students are enrolled in regular learning fellowships, Herman said. “Thats a huge number for us,” he said. “It’s really amazing. This means that more than 45 different students are coming on a regular basis for a six-week or eight-week program of Jewish learning, to learn about Israel or general Jewish learning.”
Hillel Milwaukee brought a student trip to Israel post-Oct. 7, including non-Jewish students, even after other programs canceled. A trip slated for May will likely have a waiting list, Herman said.
The organization, with its building standing beside University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on the East Side, serves college students and young adults from throughout the Milwaukee area.
Herman said he has seen some Jewish students increase their involvement post-Oct. 7, and he’s also seen non-Jewish friends or roommates of students joining in to show support.
Hillel Milwaukee, he said, is “that kind of that kind of community where the students can just be themselves.”
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