Registration open for annual Ezra Schwartz Memorial FIT5K Run/Walk

REGISTRATION AND SPONSORSHIP opportunities for the Ezra Schwartz Memorial FIT (For Israel Team Hillel) 5K Run/One Mile Fun Walk to be held Sunday, April 29, are now open for students, businesses, and the general community. One hundred percent of the event proceeds benefit the Rutgers Hillel Center for Israel Engagement (RHCIE).

The race is named to honor the memory of Ezra Schwartz, an incoming Rutgers freshman in the Class of 2020, who was murdered by terrorists in Israel while volunteering to deliver food to IDF soldiers.

Since its inception, the FIT5K has raised more than $150,000 in support of Israel engagement, education, and advocacy programs at Rutgers University Hillel. The event is held, rain or shine, in Buccleuch Park, New Brunswick. 

Driven by a core belief that a positive connection to Israel is essential for a strong, healthy Jewish identity, RHCIE focuses on enhancing student understanding of Israel’s spirit, contributions, and people. 

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“The Center’s focus on creative programming, rather than on confrontations with anti-Israel groups, puts a very human face on the Jewish homeland, for all students,” said Andrew Getraer, Rutgers Hillel executive director. 

Event cochairs are Richard and Jennifer Bullock and Eliot and Barbara Spack, all from Edison. The Ezra Schwartz Memorial FIT5K organizing committee members include David Lemerman, Susan Lemerman, Marty Slutzky, Judy Slutzky, Sam Fisher, Segev Kanik, and Michael Zimmerman.

Awards will be presented to the top three men and women finalists in various age groups. Participants may register online at bestrace.com/NewBrunswick/FIT5K. 

The registration fee is $30. Students may register for $15. 

Tax-deductible sponsorships include: $5,000 event sponsor, $1,800 benefactor, $1,000 start line, $540 finish line, $360 water station, $180 snack station, $118 T-shirt sponsor, and $54 contributor.

Sponsors at $360 and above will have their names inscribed on a paver in the garden at the Eva and Arie Halpern Hillel House on the Wilf Family Campus of Rutgers. 

Further information may be obtained by contacting Jennifer Bullock at 908-510-4005, rnjbullock@aol.com or Aviv Ayash at 732-545-2407,
aviv@rutgershillel.org.