DONOR APPRECIATION REPORT FALL 2020
2020 has been a tough year for all of us, particularly the students. Throughout the pandemic and social challenges facing college students, you made sure they had a Jewish home away from home. Thank you!
Fall 2020, whoa, what a whirlwind. It has definitely been a different roller coaster than other years.
When I met a few first years for the first time in person, they came to pick up Rosh Hashana To-Go packages. Brisket always brings people out of the woodwork. What I didn’t expect is that they would stay to chat, standing next to the trunk of my car full of packages for 45 minutes. They were lonely, curious, confused and also so grateful to be on this wonderful campus. Somehow- it wasn’t as bad as they had imagined coming to campus mid-pandemic.
They wanted to hear what the Chabad house was like, what things were like on campus “before”. When I came home that evening to Shabbat dinner with my family (what a concept, no guests???) we spoke about the new students I met. We also spoke about embracing our new reality rather than lamenting over something we do not currently have.
Our children learned to come with me to the To-Go drop
offs and see the students, they learned how to wear masks properly. The students? Well, chatting outside our van became the norm, the social-to-go hour, where we can check in. When each week we would introduce the new faces who joined the standing circle of people holding our bags- it became a community somehow. Despite of it all, maybe because of it.
Shabbat to go was far from the only way we engaged, but somehow, the in-person, weekly, warm fuzzy feeling of home made its way to be the highlight of our semester and many of theirs as well. Let me tell you about Eli, Tommy, and Abigail. A first year who was keen to become part of the vibrant Jewish life on campus, a senior who started celebrating Shabbat also at home with his sister because of these packages, and Abigail; another senior who never took part in Jewish life on campus, ever, yet this felt doable and accessible in a way that it had never before.
Thank you for your support in making a new normal, one that is special, that students look forward to coming back to.
Chabad on Fulton is our daughter’s Jewish home away from home.
Rabbi Daniel and Dalia provide a spiritual, educational and warm environment for students to explore their Jewish identity in their own way. We love that Shabbat dinners and holidays are part of our daughter’s experience on campus. Especially in this difficult time of Covid, the Friday night drop off meals and the weekly
-BY NAOMI AND BARRY PERLMAN P ‘23connection with Chabad has provided a sense of community.
We were fortunate last year to spend two Shabbat dinners with the Sanoffs and the students. The ruach and sense of camaraderie amongst the diverse group was heartwarming.
The delicious food, warm atmosphere
and engaging conversation on all levels allows for each student to define Judaism at their own level and on their own terms.
We are grateful that Chabad has been there for our daughter for these last two years and we look forward to all of the positive things that Chabad will continue to do for her and the larger Vassar community.
The Ruach and sense of camaraderie amongst the diverse group was heartwarming.
WITH YOUR HELP, SHABBAT DINNERS AND HOLIDAYS ARE PART OF OUR DAUGHTER’S EXPERIENCE ON CAMPUS
They were lonely, curious, confused, and also so grateful to you.
When I came to Vassar as a first year I knew I wanted to stay connected with Judaism but I didn’t know how to.
Chabad on Fulton welcomed me with open arms, a great comfort for someone who was still trying to figure out where she fit on campus. I attended events here and there in the beginning my first year, but really began to get involved with Chabad during my first Passover at Vassar, in Spring 2017.
Every Passover, Rabbi Daniel and Dalia provide kosher for Passover meals for students free of charge, coming to campus each day with lunch and then welcoming students to the Chabad house for dinner. Lunch is served in the Old Bookstore area of Main Building, a central location on campus and a comfortable space with plenty of tables for students to join around.
striking up engaging conversations and enjoying delicious food. The willingness to selflessly give that I experienced that Passover (and every Passover following) was only the tip of the iceberg.
Thank you for providing me with incredible Jewish educational opportunities.
I soon began to attend Shabbat dinners more regularly, and by my Junior and Senior year I would go nearly every Friday evening. In addition to Shabbat and the numerous other Jewish Holidays I celebrated with Chabad, I was also provided with incredible Jewish educational opportunities, learning with Dalia and Rabbi at Vassar as well as at different educational programs in New York City and Florida, where I met students from Chabad on Campuses across the country.
For the 8 days of Passover, I ate most of my meals with Rabbi Daniel, Dalia, their children, and fellow Jewish students,
These experiences and the countless others that Chabad on Fulton made available for me opened my eyes to a whole new way of seeing, and living, Judaism that I will carry with me far past Vassar; most importantly, the knowledge that there will be a Chabad and a welcoming Jewish community wherever life takes me.
Homebound Students received a box with all items needed to celebrate Chanukah at Home.
Every week our minivan back row seats came out & we filled it with Shabbat to Go bags for students.
Rabbi Daniel does kosher supervision in a local senior residence & therefore was given the vaccine. He is doing his part to end the pandemic!
We visited students & alumnae/i in the Tri-State area this year to light the menorah & rejoice in its warmth.
neighbors with regular food drop offs & socially distanced visits to help alleviate loneliness.
