All the celebrations!

What a week it has been. I cannot get over how proud I am of this incredible Hillel at Miami community. We set out to raise $15,000 and ended up raising $22,381.  And yet, since today is the final day of Hillel Global Giving Week. That means until midnight tonight, gifts will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $2,000 per gift while matching funds remain! 

If you are able, we hope you will take this opportunity to support Hillel at Miami and help us to exceed our new goal of $25,000

Aside from our fundraising efforts this week, we also celebrated our student leadership by awarding 2 seniors with the Nicky Spivack Award for Community Enhancement. This award was created by alumni, Debbie Bazarsky ‘97 and Faith Racusin ‘99. See below for more information about the awards and the Hillel at Miami students who won them. Kol HaKavod to them and all of our graduating seniors. 

• Nicky Spivak Award for Community Enhancement: This award goes to a senior who exemplifies Jewish life at Miami and in Oxford. Through their words and deeds, they personify Jewish values and use those values to guide their daily life. The recipient of this award has gone and continues to go above and beyond to represent the Jewish community in a positive light, and build bridges with other communities in Oxford and beyond.

  • Emily Garforth: From being a major part of Hillel’s Genocide and Holocaust Council to bridging the Hillel and Chabad on campus to focusing her studies on justice for the Jewish people Emily has been proactive in continuing her Jewish journey by finding the things that connect her to her Judaism. Additionally, as president of Hillel: AJS, Emily has worked hard to make sure the Jewish community thrived through an extremely difficult period of disconnection and isolation. Emily is truly deserving of the Nicky Spivak Award and has done incredible work to enhance our community.

  • Leora Bernard: Leora Bernard has shown time and time again that you don’t need to be an intern at Hillel to be a contributing member of the Jewish community. For all four years of her college career, Leora has been a proud and vocal advocate for Jews and non-Jews alike. Leora has the amazing ability to look beyond herself, and speak out for marginalized people within and outside of the Jewish community. Her ability to give a voice to those who are not heard, and to make sure that all people experience justice and equity makes her a perfect recipient of the Nicky Spivak Award.

• Citizenship Award: This award goes to a student who works to better not only the Jewish community but the world community as well. Whether it is through acts of service, creating inclusive spaces, or working to make policies equitable through their efforts the recipient of this award embodies the spirit of good citizenship.

  • Emily Garforth: Emily Garforth has demonstrated a commitment to Miami’s community at large time and time again. Not only does she advocate for the Jewish community on campus, but actively invites other communities to be included in her work. This year she partnered with the Sikh and Armenian student associations to give them space to speak about the genocides that have been committed against their groups. Emily has also shown a dedication to diversity and inclusion throughout her work with Hillel, making sure that the things we do are accessible to all.

  • Jessica Cantor: Jessica Cantor has been a welcoming and inclusive presence at Miami. She cares deeply about the community, both Jewish and not. Through her work as Hillel’s Social Media and Marketing intern, she has made our platforms more inclusive and accessible. She has also reached out to and worked with other advocacy groups on campus such as SASS, DAC, and the Interfaith Center to make sure our platforms support other groups in the community.

• Vision and Values Award: Hillel's vision is to create a world where every Jewish student makes a commitment to Jewish life, and strives to do that by empowering Jewish students to go on their own Jewish journey. The recipient of this award is someone who embodies that mission and vision and helps Hillel to achieve its goals.

  • Josh Akum: Hillel’s mission, in part, is to empower Jewish students and to encourage them to make an enduring commitment to Jewish life. Josh Akum embodies this in more ways than we can count, but his work with AEPi (the official Jewish fraternity on campus) and Hillel is the clearest example. By bridging the two organizations Josh has made it easy for his fraternity brothers to find a connection to Jewish life, and continue their Jewish journeys. That, in addition to his willingness to do anything and everything for Hillel, makes him a fine example of all this award encompasses.

  • Hila Eitam: Israel advocacy and education is a key part of Hillel’s mission and vision, and Hila excels at both. As Israel intern for Hillel, she has worked closely with our Israel fellow to ensure there are programs at Miami that support and inform people about Israel and its importance to the Jewish people. Her work has directly encouraged Miami students to experience Israel for themselves, and inquire about ways they can do more to learn about and uphold our Jewish nation. For this and many other reasons, Hila has been awarded the Vision and Values Award.

Love and Honor,

Whitney Fisch, MSW
Executive Director