WEDNESDAYS
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Hillel International pays close attention to incoming students and upcoming generations.
Generation Z is here today as freshman and sophomores born in the late 1990’s. In short, these
students are prone to new levels of stress, anxiety, depression and extreme fear of social
judgement from their peers based on their histories and exposure to social media from a young
age, financial hardships during the housing crisis and pressures from family to be successful to
fully support themselves no matter what. Hillel has been a safe place for decades encouraging
growth, community and connection. Now, more than ever, Hillels need to address the needs of
current students on campus addressing mental wellness, personal identification while learning
tools to live life on life’s terms. Visit Hillel’s new initiative to read more.
In the Fall of 2018, Chico Hillel started offering HillelWell Wednesdays based on the results of Rabbi Sherre Hirsch, national Hillel’s Associate Vice President for Jewish Education and her team.
When traumatic events happen in America, Chico Hillel is prepared to meet the students where
they are at in the week. We’ve discussed trending topics like the #IBelieveHer Movement, the
shootings in Pittsburgh/Poway, the Camp Fire in Paradise and other topics such as, when to give
myself permission, self-care and setting boundaries. We’ve also utilized this space and time with guided meditation, zen like music, arts and de-stressing activities like connect sand and puzzles. We offer tasty snacks and warm or cold beverages depending on the weather.
Most recently we offered an Art Therapy group to channel and focus our stress during HillelWell
Wednesday. The Inside Out Art Group is a program in which those of the Chico Hillel
community participate in to not only make art but to learn tools to contribute to mental health.
For example, a Mandala program agenda was used to utilize the calming effect of a circle as a
way to release anxieties within a safe space. These tools promote the use of art to not only reduce
stress but to also address personal issues in a safe and healthy forum. This program is for those
who choose to participate, and specifically is proposed to address student’s needs to express
themselves in a way that is constructive. Those who have partaken in this program so far have
noticeably been students who have needed extra support from their Hillel community, as well as
those who have been in need of extracurricular down-time within Hillel. It takes place once a
week for a two-hour period during our “HillelWell Wednesdays,” in which the art therapist leads
the session and provides a template for the lesson to promote mental health and positivity. The
Inside Out Art Group is proposed to take place for a six=week time period; however, it has also
been proposed to extend the lessons to ten weeks based on funding and partnerships.
Generation Z is here today as freshman and sophomores born in the late 1990’s. In short, these
students are prone to new levels of stress, anxiety, depression and extreme fear of social
judgement from their peers based on their histories and exposure to social media from a young
age, financial hardships during the housing crisis and pressures from family to be successful to
fully support themselves no matter what. Hillel has been a safe place for decades encouraging
growth, community and connection. Now, more than ever, Hillels need to address the needs of
current students on campus addressing mental wellness, personal identification while learning
tools to live life on life’s terms. Visit Hillel’s new initiative to read more.
In the Fall of 2018, Chico Hillel started offering HillelWell Wednesdays based on the results of Rabbi Sherre Hirsch, national Hillel’s Associate Vice President for Jewish Education and her team.
When traumatic events happen in America, Chico Hillel is prepared to meet the students where
they are at in the week. We’ve discussed trending topics like the #IBelieveHer Movement, the
shootings in Pittsburgh/Poway, the Camp Fire in Paradise and other topics such as, when to give
myself permission, self-care and setting boundaries. We’ve also utilized this space and time with guided meditation, zen like music, arts and de-stressing activities like connect sand and puzzles. We offer tasty snacks and warm or cold beverages depending on the weather.
Most recently we offered an Art Therapy group to channel and focus our stress during HillelWell
Wednesday. The Inside Out Art Group is a program in which those of the Chico Hillel
community participate in to not only make art but to learn tools to contribute to mental health.
For example, a Mandala program agenda was used to utilize the calming effect of a circle as a
way to release anxieties within a safe space. These tools promote the use of art to not only reduce
stress but to also address personal issues in a safe and healthy forum. This program is for those
who choose to participate, and specifically is proposed to address student’s needs to express
themselves in a way that is constructive. Those who have partaken in this program so far have
noticeably been students who have needed extra support from their Hillel community, as well as
those who have been in need of extracurricular down-time within Hillel. It takes place once a
week for a two-hour period during our “HillelWell Wednesdays,” in which the art therapist leads
the session and provides a template for the lesson to promote mental health and positivity. The
Inside Out Art Group is proposed to take place for a six=week time period; however, it has also
been proposed to extend the lessons to ten weeks based on funding and partnerships.
Photo Gallery of HillelWell Wednesdays
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