Chavurah at USC: Fund the future of independent Judaism
Total Raised:
$0 of $6,000 Goal
Number of Donors:
Donors
Chavurah at USC is an independent, student-run, traditional, egalitarian, and pluralistic Jewish
community at the University of Southern California. Our mission is to create a new kind of Jewish
community that allows current and future generations of students to practice and celebrate Judaism on
their own terms. Our mission embraces traditional religious practice within modern progressive Jewish
values, like LGBTQ+ acceptance and egalitarianism. What makes our mission most unique is that we
proudly encourage and facilitate diverse conversations about current events and issues affecting the
Jewish community both at home and around the world.
During our time as students, limited Jewish programming at USC has met and supported both our
religious and political values. As the campus grows increasingly polarized, many existing Jewish
institutions tend to prioritize political agendas over inclusive religious and cultural activities. To this
effect, many Jewish students have felt sidelined as donor-driven priorities overshadow the programming
needs and interests of the student body. Our answer is Chavurah; a space to welcome these students into a
new, alternative Jewish community. We prioritize fostering a culture of productive dialogue between
Jewish students about the times we are living through. Our space provides traditional Jewish
programming to Jews of all political and religious backgrounds.
Chavurah at USC is proud to put on programming unique to the USC community. For our more traditional programming, we facilitate egalitarian shabbat services and offer free shabbat dinner for our
participants, and host Jewish and Torah learning spaces with religious scholars. Our social events include
game nights, parties, and identity-centered Queer Zine Making. We also put on political and educational discussions led by scholars and activists such as Arik Ascherman and Elad Nehorai. In contrast to the other Jewish communities at USC, we are completely student-run and don’t have the support of international organizations to keep us afloat.
All of our events remain free to participants in order to increase our accessibility and reach among the Jewish community. In order to do this, we need to pay for:
- Shabbat dinner, feeding approximately 15 people at a time
- Snacks and/or dinner at any given event
- Printing materials for learning and club promotion
- Transportation to local synagogues for holidays and other events
- A canva subscription for promotional materials
- Fees to bring esteemed speakers to campus
- Groceries to make our own food for shabbat and holidays
Our yearly (two semester) projected budget is $15,000. Meeting this goal on Day of SCupport would greatly improve our ability to keep the club functioning for the next few months. Every dollar makes a difference.
All RSOs are approved by the university and are student-run and student-led. RSOs are affiliated with the university but not part of the university. All RSOs operate with open membership and any currently enrolled USC student may join. RSOs also operate within the university’s non-discrimination policy:
Non-Discrimination Statement: This program is open to all eligible individuals. Chavurah at USC operates all of its programs and activities consistent with the University’s Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor.