By Janis Navikas

Friends of Cambridge Rindge & Latin School, Inc. (FOCRLS), an independent nonprofit in its 15^th year of broadening opportunities at the city’s public high school, is preparing to present scholarships totaling $80,000 in 2022. Hundreds of sponsors and donors − individuals, families, organizations, and businesses − fund the 56 scholarships FOCRLS is distributing to CRLS seniors and past graduates in support of their higher education.

New sponsors Ramie Targoff & Stephen Greenblatt recently established the Cheri Kamen Memorial Scholarship in the Humanities. Professor Targoff said, “This scholarship is in memory of my beloved mother, who studied American History, both as an undergraduate and as a graduate student before going on to become a lawyer. I wanted to honor her commitment to the study of the past by encouraging female students graduating from CRLS to pursue the humanities at the university level.”

Eileen Taxe Levine & Irving Lee Levine, also new sponsors, launched the Scholarship for Equity & Social Justice as a way, the Levines said, “to recognize the commitment and dedication of CRLS students who have been working towards equity and social justice in the Cambridge community. We want to honor the power of their voices, courageous actions, and hopefulness. We support and thank them as they enter this next chapter of their lives.”

Naveed Rahman & Caroline Butler-Rahman joined as scholarship sponsors this year to honor students of South Asian descent. Continuing scholarship sponsors include Patrick Ewing, Juliette Kayyem & David Barron, Jack Leydon & family, Neil B. Rosenburg, Elaine Schear, Gail Stein, Mary Tavares Sutula & family, Richard G. Gilreath, the Gardner family, and the Zagarella family. Collectively funding scholarships are family and friends of Rose & Victor Rifkin, Dr. Christopher Saheed, Dr. David A. Link, and Calvin Hicks.

Cambridge Day, CambridgeSeven Associates, Fresh Start Contracting, and Tutoring Plus are local organizations that partner with FOCRLS annually to provide scholarships, as is Cambridge Trust, which increased its sponsorship and then doubled up for two scholarships this year.

FOCRLS thanks all of its scholarship sponsors for their generosity and support for the students and graduates of Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School, as well as the Class of 2022 applicants for their inspirational determination and contributions to the community.

CRLS Class of 2022 awardees will take the stage of CRLS’s Fitzgerald Theater for the Scholarship Night ceremony on Thursday, May 5. FOCRLS members will present certificates to the approximately 50 awardees they selected, most of whom will later need to submit college enrollment verification before receiving their checks.

To learn more about Friends of CRLS’s scholarship program or establish a scholarship, please visit focrls.org or email scholarships@focrls.org. FOCRLS is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization.