Hello! We are asking for your support to help the 8th grade students of Bader Hillel Academy who have been having a dream to go to the holy land of Israel!
The last 2 years have been a very difficult time for our class. We went on lockdown, we had many families who were sick, we were isolated, and it was a very hard time for all of us. The 8th grade Israel trip has been a tradition at Bader Hillel Academy for decades. However, for the past 2 years, Israel has been in a country wide lockdown, Israel had been in isolation, and wasn’t letting any visitors in and out of the country making it very difficult for us to connect with our Jewish roots.
In the beginning of our 8th grade year, we were told so many different things about our ability to go on this trip. In December, our teachers and staff had told us that we were most likely not going to Israel because Israel had shut down once again because of Covid. We were devastated and couldn’t believe that we couldn’t go. Being told it was not likely for us to travel made our whole class so sad. Less than 2 months ago, We heard from our teachers, staff, and parents that Israel opened up its borders and now we are very excited to finally be able to go to Israel!!
From the start of our Israel trip to the last days there, we will be visiting and discovering many historical monuments that are part of our Jewish Heritage. Every day we will be learning and growing from our meaningful experiences. One of the special things we are going to be doing is visiting Ukrainian refugees who have recently arrived in Israel creating their new lives. We are doing many different kinds of fundraisers including this GoFundMe. Please consider supporting this campaign.
We welcome any donation, but as our thank you to you, if you make a donation of $50, you will receive a Friendship Circle Bakery Ukrainian cookie of which part of the proceeds of that cookie will support Ukrainian refugees. If you make a donation of $100, you will receive a print of an original piece of artwork made by local artist Amy Gelfman. For a donation of $180 you will get to send us a personal note that you would like for us to put in the Western Wall (Kotel) when we are in Jerusalem, PLUS, if you would like to give more than $180, you get all three. Thank you for your generosity!
These are some photos from past trips our former schoolmates had the the opportunity to experience.