What is the Soref Initiative?
Nearly 25% of Jewish students throughout North America attend schools with small Jewish communities and limited resources. Established through the generosity of the Samuel and Helene Soref Foundation, Hillel's Soref Initiative enables students and local college and university communities to celebrate Jewish life on campus with smaller Jewish populations. The Soref Initiative provides guidance, financial assistance, online resources and a communication network for Jewish students and the faculty advisors, for hundreds of campuses throughout North America.
For information on the Soref Initiative, please see our website for Small and Mighty campuses at
http://www.smallandmighty.org/.
The Soref Initiative supports the following type of Hillel program:
Affiliated Hillel Student Organizations (HSOs), which are typically student-led Hillels on campuses with small Jewish populations. They have faculty advisors or limited staffing (less than 20 hours/week).
Benefits of Being an Affiliated Soref HSO
Networking and Information Resources
The Soref Initiative offers several resources to support the work of HSOs including HSO e-mail lists, unique Taglit-Israel birthright opportunties, Alternative Spring Break trips and access to Hillel grants (see below). Hillel's Schusterman International Center staff serves as points of contact to staff and advisors on Soref campuses providing consultative support to aid the development of strong Hillel organizations.
Grant Information
Affiliated Soref campuses are eligible to apply for the Soref Core Programming Grant.
Conference Scholarships
Hillel offers travel and registration subsidies to help advisors, and students from Soref campuses attend international leadership conferences. At most of these meetings, special sessions are held for Soref participants to help them enhance their leadership skills and better support Jewish life on their campuses. Travel and registration subsidies are available for:
For more information e-mail
soref@hillel.org.
[Back to the top] Brandeis Collegiate Institute The
Brandeis Collegiate Institute (BCI) is a 26-day exploration of self and Judaism within a safe, pluralistic community. Through artistic expression, dynamic learning and exploring the outdoors, a summer at BCI is a unique opportunity for participants to immerse themselves in Jewish culture. They will have the opportunity to interact with some of the world's finest Jewish scholars and artists. Located on a 3,000-acre ranch just north of Los Angeles, BCI brings young Jews (aged 18-26) from all over the world together to have a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience. BCI is non-denominational and welcomes participants from all levels of knowledge, background and affiliation to envision their Jewish life.
BCI has a historic relationship with the Soref Initiative and a commitment to partnership in meeting the needs of students from campuses with smaller Jewish populations and limited resources. Each summer students from campuses served by the Soref Initiative attend BCI
free of cost. For more information,
contact BCI, (805) 582-4450.
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Would you like to start a Hillel on your campus?
Small and Mighty
The new Small and Mighty website is an excellent resource to start with if you're considering starting a Hillel on your campus. You'll find information on all of our current opportunities available to Soref campuses as well as answers to many Frequently Asked Questions.
Affiliation
In order to better serve your campus, we require that all Soref HSOs complete a Small and Mighty Affiliation Application. For more information on the process of becoming an Affiliated Hillel, see www.smallandmighty.org.
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Contact Us:
Deb Geiger
Senior Associate for the Soref Iniative for Emerging Campuses
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life
Charles and Lynn Schusterman International Center
Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Building
800 Eighth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001-3724
202-449-6500
www.smallandmighty.org
Request more information about the Soref Initiative.