New Year, New Doors 

It’s hard to believe that 2019 is almost over – the year went by so fast! And, as they say, when one door closes, another one opens.

In review, in 2019 we…

• We finished an academic year in which we interacted with 588 Jewish undergraduates at least once – that’s 78% of all Jewish Students at Yale!
• We saw a 500% increase in the use of our dining hall thanks to our expanded dining hours and the publicity about the expansion that went to all of Yale College
• We began offering free Shabbat and holiday meals to undergraduate and graduate students who are not on a meal plan as a way to make sure that no one is turned away because of an inability to pay (graciously funded by a new donor program)
• We launched a new kitchen program under the auspices of Unidine – our new kitchen operator – and the Star-K – our new kosher supervision agency partner
• We fixed the persistent leaks in the roof and masonry, and upgraded our security and emergency-preparedness infrastructure
• We hired fabulous new staff members that have enhanced our programming, educational leadership, and administrative capacity
• We completed the 24^th year of Slifka Center, and the 78^th year of Hillel’s service at Yale

In 2020 we will continue our work to serve more students, recruit the best and brightest Jewish students to choose Yale, and begin construction on our 25^th anniversary renovation.

As I think about the last 16 months and all of the building, repairing, and innovating that we’ve been fortunate to do, I am so grateful to those alumni, parents, and friends who choose to invest in our future. As you know, Yale students go on to do the most amazing things, and I feel fortunate to be in partnership with you in making sure that students’ Jewish identities, values, and interests are vibrant, strong, and present now and into the future. This mission is vital – now more than ever.

Now is the time to make your tax deductible gift for year-end 2019. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Uri Cohen