Mizzou Hillel hosts “Build a Buddy” event

Jack Andersen

Students line up to stuff tigers as Mizzou Hillel hosts a “Build a Buddy” event in the MU Student Center on Nov. 18, 2024. Participants selected a tiger and filled it with stuffing and a plush heart. The event allowed students to create stuffed animal companions as the semester approached fall break.

Ps.hillelstuffedanimals Andersen1 — Birth certificates lay surrounded by markers at the Mizzou Hillel “Build a Buddy” event on Nov. 18, 2024 at the MU Student Center. Mizzou Hillel aims to support Jewish undergraduate and graduate students by fostering experiences that enrich not only Jewish communities, but other communities too.

Ps.hillelstuffedanimals Andersen2 — A University of Missouri student opens a tiger to add fiber stuffing during the “Build a Buddy” event. The tigers were in such high demand that Mizzou Hillel ran out of stuffed animals in under 20 minutes.

Ps.hillelstuffedanimals Andersen3 — Students fill plush tigers with stuffing at the Mizzou Hillel “Build a Buddy” event. Mizzou Hillel works closely with Chabad Jewish Center of MU and Mid-Missoura religious center for Jewish students in Columbia, Missouri.

Ps.hillelstuffedanimals Andersen4 — MU sophomore Alex Offutt grabs a fabric heart to add to her stuffed tiger before sealing it closed. Students were able to grab a plush tiger, fill it with stuffing, add a heart, decorate a shirt to add and fill out a birth certificate for their tigers.

Ps.hillelstuffedanimals Andersen5 — MU sophomore Emma Swaner decorates a t-shirt to put on her stuffed tiger at the “Build a Buddy” event. Students were encouraged to build a tiger buddy as finals and classes ramped up toward the end of the semester.

Ps.hillelstuffedanimals Andersen6 — MU senior Hailey Gold, left, stuffs a tiger with her co-worker. Students from across the MU Student Center joined in on the event as they saw other students creating their plush companions.

Ps.hillelstuffedanimals Andersen7 — Students work on various steps of the tiger stuffing process during the event hosted by Mizzou Hillel. “Having a religious community is always super important to me, and [the “Build a Buddy” event] is not just for religious groups, it’s for anyone who wants a cute tiger,” Jewish Student Organization president Aaron Segal said.

Edited by Hannah Henderson | hhenderson@themaneater.com

Copy edited by Ethan Palgon and Emma Short | eshort@themaneater.com

Edited by Emilia Hansen | ehansen@themaneater.com

Edited by Emily Skidmore | eskidmore@themaneater.com

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