Hillel at the University of Delaware is in the home stretch of a major fundraising campaign, with the hopes of building a new center for Jewish students and the community.
Hillel has been serving UD students for more than 75 years, and in its own building for more than 30 years. But the organization, and the student population it serves, has outgrown its current home, says Executive Director Donna Schwartz.
“We are building a building that will not only serve the students for today, but will serve generations of UD students for the next 50 years, we hope. God willing," she said.
Schwartz stresses that Hillel at UD is not just there to serve Jewish students.
“We're about 2,200 Jewish students on campus, and our goal at Hillel is to serve all of those students as well as the general student body," she said.
She says they do that by hosting events open to everyone designed to educate people about the Jewish faith and build stronger connections. It's work she wants to continue and expand in a building with more space.
“In today's climate of anti-Semitism, the more that people learn about the Jewish culture, of the Jewish faith the better off we will all be in the long run," she said. "This new building will allow us to not only reach the Jewish students, but it will allow us to reach the greater population at the university.”
Schwartz says they have raised about $8 million of their $12 million goal, and hope to break ground in October, with the building opening late next year. The fundraising campaign ends on December 31.
