August 27, 2009
7 Elul 5769
Dear Friends,
Classes resumed this week at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland State University and a number of other colleges and universities in the area. Oberlin College starts its classes this coming Monday. For us it means that this is the time to welcome new students and reconnect with returning students.
In this report I will inform you about some of our opening programs, some of the plans for the semester, and review the summer internship program and social program.
During the summer Cleveland Hillel stayed very busy implementing the summer programs we sponsor, but it was also a time to plan, review, develop new programs, meet friends and funders, organize, and learn. Each of the staff had the opportunity to take some vacation and I used my vacation to travel through the Deep South, something I have wanted to do for years. My wife took our daughters to Israel to visit our son and other family for a month and with our younger son we took a road trip to seven states. Between Shabbat stays in Atlanta and Memphis we spent a week in Alabama and Mississippi. Along the way we visited about 20 museums, civil war, civil rights, sports, and science. We also went to a few minor league baseball games and saw some sights of Jewish interest.
I wanted to get a feeling about what it "feels like" to be in the South and of course as might be anticipated in two weeks there it felt like anywhere else; most people were courteous and nice. (I also wanted to see whether Cleveland Hillel could organize a program for Black and Jewish students that would culminate in a joint trip to the South after a series of community service projects in Cleveland.) But as we visited many museums I was struck by the idea that that the same story can be told in many different nuanced ways. Often, each of us experiences the perspective of what others want us to see. This is an important idea to understand as we work with students. Hillel's role is to help them grow Jewishly and become better human beings. This can best be done if our programs create the opportunity for students to learn about themselves and others. If done correctly students will realize that the world offers many perspectives and that the challenge for them is to find their own path while respecting the choices of others to strike out on a different path. In this way the resulting mosaic that is the Jewish People will be more beautiful than any of its individual pieces.
As we are now in Elul Rosh Hashanah is less than a month away. Of course we offer a full array of programming and services for the High Holy Days both in Cleveland and Oberlin. We offer services on campus. Interested students can also attend any of the local synagogues and temples and be hosted by families.
On behalf of the Cleveland Hillel Foundation I want to take this opportunity to wish each of you a Happy, Healthy, and Sweet New Year. May each of us be privileged to be written in the book of life and prosperity.
As always if you have comments, questions or requests, please be in touch with me at 216-231-0040 or gcoleman@clevelandhillel.org
With Blessings,
Gary Coleman |
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Summer Internship Program
This summer's program (June 22-August 14) placed 31 undergraduate students at both for profit businesses and non profit organizations. (A full list of the interns and the placements is available here.) The interns worked Monday - Thursday at their job and had Friday seminars. At these seminars they experienced Cleveland, met with a Holocaust survivor, dealt with issues of Jewish continuity, learned business lunch etiquette, and met a number of leaders in Cleveland and the Jewish community.
The interns took part in a service day that we helped organize along with interns from Summer on the Cuyahoga, the Cleveland Foundation, CWRU, and a few other places. One of our interns created a sign up sheet so you can see where the interns volunteered. 
In addition the interns organized a number of social programs for themselves and their peers throughout the summer. These included:
- Whirlyball
- Bowling
- Restaurant Nights
- Shabbat Dinners
- Rock Climbing
- Senior Prom for residents of Menorah Park
- Movie Nights
In order to learn more about the accomplishments of the interns and how it helps them connect to Cleveland and its Jewish community, please look at these.
- Tracey Levine, an intern at Envision Radio, talked about the program at the final luncheon for interns and their supervisors on August 14
- Adam Yasinow wrote about some of the interns on the Let My People Know website
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NRP, an intern placement, wrote about their 2009 intern and their 2008 intern that they hired for the summer of 2009
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We want to thank Strengthening and Growing Jewish Cleveland of the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, The Cleveland Foundation, and the Mt. Sinai Foundation for special grants that make this program possible.
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Beginning of Semester and Upcoming Speakers on Campus
As mentioned above classes started Monday at CWRU and CSU along with a number of other schools and will be starting next Monday at Oberlin. Our programming started with:
During September and October we will be celebrating Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Shmini Atzeret/Simchat Torah. In addition we are proud to be hosting these Israel focused speakers:
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Miscellaneous
- The board, staff, and families gathered for a social evening in August. We want tothank Carolann and Marty Cohen and family for their hospitality. A full list of current board members is available here
- Over the summer we hired two new program professionals. Shoshanna Silverman a native of Ann Arbor Michigan and a recent alumnus of Oberlin College has started to work at the Oberlin Hillel as Engagement Associate. Madeline Bleiweiss a Solon Ohio resident who recently graduated from Indiana University is working with graduate and professional students through Cleveland Metro Hillel as Graduate Student Assistant. We thank the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland for the increased allocation that enabled us to hire these two young professionals. As a result the students attending these colleges and universities will be better served. A full list of employees and their titles is available here.
- As we constantly develop stronger relations with the universities and colleges we work with it is important to mention that as issues of concern to the Jewish community arise we have constructive and open conversation with the administration leadership. In addition CWRU has just sent out an RFP that requests proposals from consultants on how to increase the number of Jewish undergraduate students the university recruits. This was the result of ongoing discussions we have had with university leadership, a board retreat, and a task force that was established.
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Fundraising
As the semester starts up we are interested in funding many projects. A wonderful opportunity to serve the needs of our students is to sponsor a Shabbat dinner or Holiday meal. We will be placing an ad in the Cleveland Jewish News at the end of the academic year to thank the sponsors. If you are interested in the possibility of sponsoring a Shabbat dinner or other sponsorship opportunities please contact Harriet Mann at hmann@clevelandhillel.org Besides sponsorship opportunities we ask that you consider making a contribution to Cleveland Hillel either by going on line here Or mailing a check to CLEVELAND HILLEL FOUNDATION INC 11291 Euclid Ave. Cleveland,OH 44106 It will enable us to continue to bring quality programs to the students at the universities we serve and assure a brighter Jewish future For more information on Cleveland Hillel Foundation check out our web site www.clevelandhillel.org |
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