The Rashi School Celebrates Culmination of $34M+ RISE Campaign

Over 400 people attended The Rashi School’s Annual Dinner at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro on May 18. Amidst inspirational speeches, powerful videos and heartfelt tributes, The Rashi School was humbled to bestow an honorary degree upon Omer Shem Tov, 23, who was held hostage in Gaza for 505 days, spending 450 of those days alone in the underground tunnels. Omer gave a moving speech, conveying a message of Jewish pride, healing and hope.

The Annual Dinner also marked the success of the transformative RISE Campaign, which has already raised over $34 million to create a new endowment, bolster the Annual Fund, and allow the school to make immediate improvements to ensure that The Rashi School will provide life-changing education to its world-changing students for generations to come. This campaign could not have happened without the tireless work of alumni parents and Campaign Co-Chairs Cindy and Andrew Janower, and Jessica and Chuck Myers. The Campaign will come to an official close on June 30, 2025.

Rashi’s new Head of School, Emily Charton, remarked that “What truly makes Rashi, Rashi—is that we don’t just raise scholars (because we do!), we raise menches. At the heart of our school is a commitment to Jewish values, to justice and kindness, to humility and strength, to building a better world…together.”

The Rashi School also proudly announced that this year’s Stephanie Rotsky Tikkun Alum Award is going to Maxwell Long ’11 of Chicago, IL. This award was created to celebrate Rashi alumni who demonstrate a strong commitment to social justice and tikkun olam (repairing the world) in their lives beyond Rashi. Max is the founder of Growing Wings, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing affordable housing, mental health services, and a supportive community for Lone Soldiers serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Max, who was recently deployed to the war in Israel for his 3rd active tour with the IDF, accepted the Tikkun Alum Award via an incredibly touching video, which is available on The Rashi School website.

Over the years, The Rashi School Annual Dinner has evolved into a joyous celebration of Rashi and its impact on the Jewish and global community. Notably, Rashi’s RISE Campaign spans the entire Greater Boston community, helping them to surpass the Campaign’s $30M goal to sustain Rashi's future. For more information or to make a donation, please call the Development Office at 781-355-7312 or visit RashiRise.org.

About The Rashi School

The Rashi School is Greater Boston's Reform Jewish Independent School for Grades PK-8. In our warm and inclusive community, children are appreciated for who they are as they learn and develop. The school's unique integration of rigorous secular academics and Jewish learning, commitment to differentiated instruction, and mission rooted in social justice nurtures students’ curiosity to learn, to ask and answer tough questions, and to critically evaluate multiple perspectives. With kindness as their core, Rashi students go on to top high schools and universities and become Jewish leaders who work to make the world a better place.