Latest News from Campus

More than 800 college students at 22 campus Hillels will participate in service projects marking the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks through a partnership between Hillel International and Repair the World, supported by a grant from 9/11 Day and AmeriCorps. The projects address local needs including food security and environmental stewardship, while Jewish learning connects service with remembrance and civic responsibility. “It benefits the community and allows our students to see themselves as civic agents,” said Hillel International Senior Director of Social Impact Dani Levine.

Hillel International and Repair the World expanded the Bridging Service Fellowship for the 2026–27 academic year, creating more opportunities for students to participate in community service and build relationships across differences. The program will run for the full academic year, giving students more time to work together on local community needs while developing skills in dialogue and civic engagement.

This semester, Hillel at Southern Methodist University is welcoming Jewish students to Hillel Home, a dedicated space on campus where they can study, gather, celebrate Shabbat and holidays, and connect with a growing, vibrant Jewish community.  “Hillel Home is so much more than a beautiful space. It is a promise to every Jewish student at SMU that they have a place where they belong,” said Hillel at SMU Executive Director Rabbi Heidi Coretz.

Andrew Austrager, a second-year student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a member of Hillel International’s Ruach Fellowship, recently had the opportunity to develop his skills as a Jewish student leader at the fellowship’s Summer Shabbaton in Chicago. Alongside more than 150 students from nearly 50 campuses, Austrager will spend the year exploring different approaches to Shabbat and other Jewish ritual and spiritual experiences, and creating a sense of belonging for Jewish students on his campus.

This fall, more than 130 Hillels will receive grants to expand Shabbat programming as part of Hillel International’s “Shabbat Surge,” a movement-wide effort to strengthen Shabbat experiences during the first six weeks of the semester. The initiative aims to bring more students together around the Shabbat table and create opportunities for connection and community. “There’s something really special about seeing students who might not otherwise cross paths sitting around the same table, laughing, talking, and creating community together,” said Ben Novorr, director of Jewish student engagement at University of Kansas Hillel.

Hillel International and Repair the World’s Bridging Service Fellowship returns to Binghamton University for a second year, bringing Jewish and non-Jewish students together through volunteer service, cohort learning, and opportunities to build relationships. The national program, which helps students connect with their local community and with one another, is bringing together 218 fellows across 16 campuses.