UJS raises over £800,000 to support Jewish students across the UK

The Union of Jewish Students (UJS) raised £800,000 in 36 hours through its ‘Our Students. Our Future.’ matched fundraising campaign.

The initiative, which ran from Sunday 6 to Monday 7 September, saw supporters from across the Jewish community come together to ensure UJS and its network of JSocs can continue to support Jewish students throughout the UK.

The organisation works with more than 10,000 Jewish students across 80 JSocs, providing everything from Friday Night Dinners, festivals and Jewish learning to leadership development, welfare support and representation on some of the most difficult issues facing Jewish students on campus today.

As hundreds of students, parents, alumni, former UJS Presidents, trustees and supporters took part in the campaign, its new president Raphi Leon said: “Reaching over £800,000 is absolutely incredible. We have been overwhelmed by the response. For Jewish students, UJS and our JSocs are so much more than organisations. They give us community, friendship and somewhere we can be proudly Jewish. They are also there to stand up for us when we need them.”

He added: “Knowing that so many people across our community have chosen to stand with us means an enormous amount. Thank you to every single person who donated, shared the campaign or helped us reach our target.”

The money raised will help UJS continue its work leading, defending and enriching Jewish student life across the country. It will support JSocs, Jewish events and celebrations, leadership programmes, campus visits and UJS’s work representing and defending Jewish students with universities, government and other institutions.

Carolyn Bogush, chair of trustees, said: “Over £800,000 in 36 hours is a remarkable achievement, and we are enormously grateful to everyone who made it possible. But this campaign was about much more than a fundraising target. It was about showing our students that the Jewish community is behind them.

“Our students are the leaders of our community today, and for the future. The support we have seen over these 36 hours will allow us to continue giving them the Jewish experiences, opportunities, confidence and support they need to thrive at university and beyond.”

UJS has been supporting Jewish students for more than 100 years and today represents Jewish students at universities across the UK and Ireland.