Through a new endowment with the Jewish Community Foundation of The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, Rhea Schwartz is investing in Jewish summer camp—helping more children experience what shaped her so profoundly. Her support recognizes both the cost for families and the realities camps face in maintaining safe, welcoming facilities.

Jewish Life, Lived Every Day

Rhea Schwartz grew up in a home filled with Jewish life.

Raised in Brooklyn, her childhood was shaped by family, culture, and everyday experience. Yiddish filled the room, spoken by her grandparents, parents, and their friends. “My family wasn’t very religious,” she says, “but we were very Jewish.”

Where Belonging Took Shape

That feeling of belonging took its fullest shape at Jewish summer camp.

For ten summers, camp was where Rhea felt most at home—living in bunks, singing on Friday nights, and forming friendships that would last a lifetime. Several of those summers were spent at a small Jewish camp in the Catskills, owned and operated by her parents and their closest friends. It was an experience that shaped not only her childhood, but her understanding of what Jewish community can be.

The Power of Camp, Long After Summer Ends

Decades later, those connections endure. Long after the camp itself closed, former campers still find each other—organizing reunions, maintaining friendships, and staying connected through an active online community.

“That tells you how powerful camp can be,” Rhea reflects. “It creates Jewish family.”

How Community Is Sustained

After moving to Greater Washington for law school, Rhea became involved in the local Jewish community through the JCC, a place she believed was essential to Jewish life in the nation’s capital. Through that involvement, she came to better understand the broader Jewish communal landscape, including the role Federation plays in strengthening Jewish life across the region.

“I wasn’t raised as a Federation kid,” she says plainly. “But once I understood what Federation does, I wanted to learn more.”

That learning led her to years of involvement on Federation committees, deepening her understanding of communal responsibility. Her own lived experience—especially camp—ultimately shaped how she chose to give back.

Showing Up When It Matters Most

Rhea’s commitment to Jewish life didn’t begin with camp—and it doesn’t end there.

Earlier, in 2017, she and her late husband, Paul Martin Wolff, established the Rhea S. Schwartz and Paul Martin Wolff Emergency Fund through the Jewish Community Foundation of The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, designed to ensure resources are available when unbudgeted local or global emergencies arise.

Since 2022, the fund has been activated to respond to urgent needs, including support for Jewish summer camps after fire-related damage and, more recently, assistance to the Capital Jewish Museum following last year’s antisemitic attack.

For Rhea, this kind of readiness reflects the same values she learned early on: that Jewish community means showing up for one another—both in moments of joy and in moments of need.

Ensuring Belonging for Generations to Come

With the Foundation, she found a partner who helped her turn a deeply personal chapter of her life into a lasting commitment, shaped by what mattered most to her: supporting both the children who attend camp and the camps that make those experiences possible.

For Rhea, the impact of camp goes far beyond summer fun.

“It’s like the first time I went to Israel,” she explains. “I remember thinking, I don’t have to be conscious of being Jewish.”

At camp, she says, children experience a rare kind of ease: being fully themselves without explanation. Whether it’s joyfully welcoming Shabbat, forming close friendships, or simply living Jewishly without standing out, camp offers a sense of comfort that’s hard to replicate elsewhere.

“Jewish camp removes the element of uncomfortableness,” she says. “You belong.”

Looking Ahead to What Comes Next

When asked whether she considers herself a philanthropist, Rhea hesitates. “Not really,” she says, smiling. “A do-gooder, maybe.”

What matters most to her is what comes next. The idea that children—perhaps for the first time—will experience Jewish summer camp because of her investment is deeply meaningful.

When asked how it would feel to hear stories of children attending Jewish summer camp for the first time because of her support, Rhea doesn’t hesitate. Her face lights up.

“I hope you’ll come back and tell me those stories,” she says. “That would be great.”

For Rhea Schwartz, camp was never just a place. It was where Jewish identity felt natural, joyful, and secure. And now, through her generosity, she’s helping ensure that same sense of belonging is passed on, one summer at a time.

Carrying What Matters Forward

Her story is one example of how Jewish experiences can inspire action that strengthens Jewish life across our region.

Thinking about how your giving can endure for generations?