Providence Hebrew Day School moves awards online

The Providence Hebrew Day School’s 73rd annual awards program will be held on Sunday, Sept. 6, but the usual presentation at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center is being replaced by a virtual celebration and drive-up/pick-up family-style dinner.

The program will feature the award ceremonies, a performance by world-renowned composer and singer Rabbi Baruch Levine, and a special video presentation celebrating “The Heartbeat of our Community.”  The video highlights the Providence Hebrew Day School as home to the Providence Community Kollel, Congregation Sha’arei Tefilla and Project Shoresh – the intersection of four vital Jewish institutions under one roof.

The school will also salute Avrohom Dovid Winter, who will be honored with the Volunteer of the Year Award, and Reuven (Russell) Yavner, who will receive the Alumnus Award. 

Winter is the founder and principal consultant of Winter Solutions, Inc., of Boston, which provides technology consulting and management for small businesses, nonprofits and educational institutions around the country.

Winter gave of his time, knowledge and resources to rapidly implement a robust remote-learning solution that meets PHDS’ rigorous internet safety standards, while laying the foundation for educational technology in years to come. 

Through the generous funding of NEAT Inc. and a matching campaign, managed Chromebooks were given to each student. Invaluable direction was provided by Winter’s friend and colleague, Muataz Al Mufti, an expert in K-12 internet safety. 

Winter lives in Sharon, Massachusetts, with his wife and greatest supporter, Esti. He says he is the proud father and stepfather of 10 “unique and incredible young people.”

Yavner, a 2002 graduate of the Providence Hebrew Day School and the son of David and Esta Yavner, is assistant general counsel for the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center, where he provides legal counsel for the business and basketball operations of the NBA team and its arena.

Yavner graduated summa cum laude from the University of Maryland, where he was the recipient of the W.E. Sclaretzki Prize for graduating first in the Philosophy Department. He then worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative correspondent for Congressman Patrick Kennedy and later for Congressman David Cicilline, before attending Harvard Law School. 

At Harvard, Yavner was awarded the Edward C. Smith Scholarship, received the Paul C. Weiler writing prize, and was a senior editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy.

After graduating from law school, Yavner worked in the litigation department of an international law firm before moving into his current role in 2015.

Yavner is an active member of his community and previously served as the president of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine Synagogue while his wife, Talia, was a medical student.

Yavner resides in Kew Gardens Hills, New York, along with his wife and their two sons, Gavriel and Leo.

The awards program promises to be an inspiring event despite being virtual.  To order dinner, get more information about the program or make a contribution in honor of the event, please visit https://phdschool.org/amudim or send an email to pscheinerman@phdschool.org.

RUCHAMA SZENDRO lives in Providence and is a member of the Amudim Awards committee at Providence Hebrew Day School.