“Let your smile change the world, but never let the world change your smile;” this maxim was printed on a sign that sat on the desk of Cassidy Murray ’27. Her parents, Dave and Linda Murray P ’24 ’27, said their daughter was the embodiment of those words. After her devastating death in a boating accident in Aruba in March of 2022, the Murray family is determined that Cassidy’s brilliant positivity continues to grace this world.
“When Cassidy passed so tragically, we knew that couldn’t be the end of Cassidy,” Mrs. Murray said. “A light that bright doesn’t go out. She was full of so much life and energy and just goodness. We want to keep her memory alive.”
Honoring Cassidy’s generous spirit, the Murray family launched the Cassidy Murray Foundation on July 13. Its mission is to provide trauma and grief therapy services to those who, like the Murrays, suffered through a calamity. Because Cassidy loved her school, the foundation will also aim to provide need- based scholarships to those who want to attend the school or a university, but cannot afford it.
“When you go through something like this, even though it’s so tragic, something ignites within you that wants to help as we know the pain and heartbreak others are about to endure when we hear of a tragedy,” Mrs. Murray said. “It’s one of the few things that will make you feel slightly better. There’s an absolute willingness and need to help others.”
Although family, neighbors in the Murrays’ hometown of Milton, Massachusetts, and the school community rallied to support the Murrays in the excruciating aftermath of Cassidy’s death, the Murrays still struggled to find adequate therapy
services, Mrs. Murray said.
“We had an amazing community around us, and we still found it difficult to find grief and trauma therapy services,” she said. “They didn’t seem to be readily available. So, we know there is a need.”
Their foundation plans to work with hospitals, school systems, and existing trauma and grief therapy organizations to reach affected individuals.
Although the foundation is still in its early stages and conducting research on how to best effectuate its plans, it had considerable success fundraising at its kick-off event in July. In what Mrs. Murray described as a “heroic effort,” multiple partners of the family lent their help, reaching out to donors and securing media coverage, to organize the event in the short span of two weeks. Head Coach of the National Hockey League’s Vegas Golden Knights, Bruce Cassidy, brought the Stanley Cup his team won in 2023 to the event to aid the Murrays, who are his family friends, in fundraising—Mr. Cassidy’s daughter, Shannon Cassidy ’27, was a close friend of Cassidy Murray when she attended the school.
“They put a lot of time and effort into it,” Mr. Cassidy said. “I just brought the cup.”
The event attracted 1,200 individuals and raised $120,000 through donation tables and sales of hats and shirts inscribed with the foundation’s C logo.
AdamMurray’24gaveaspeechattheevent,commemorating his sister.
“It shows some sign of strength that I could be up there, and I could speak on it. And I hope that it gave other people hope,” he said.
Adam’s role in the Cassidy Murray Foundation will include
more speaking engagements such as this one, he said. He believes he can be particularly helpful in supporting other youths in similar situations, he said.
“It’s really important to be able to connect with someone that knows what you’re going through. If you’re a brother, and you’re hearing it from another brother, then it’s easier to listen to.”
Adam’s work at the foundation is a small consolation to him, he said.
“The hard truth is that you’ve never really fully recovered. And it sucks. And providing these mental health and trauma supports, that’s really all that you can do. Because there’s not one day where you wake up, and you just go back to normal. It’s about going about your day and doing it for the person that you’ve lost.” Adam also leads the Cassidy Murray Foundation’s Junior Board, which consists of friends of Cassidy. The board runs the foundation’s social media page, designs and sells the
merchandise, and otherwise looks to promote the foundation.
Mary Murray ’27 (no relation), who is a member of the junior board, said kindness, something Cassidy was so well known for, is at the heart of this foundation.
“Her smile and her happiness: I wanted to be around it,” Mary said. “I gravitated toward it. People who knew Cassidy know she was a very loving spirit and wanted to help people. And that really helps us to get our name out.”
The Cassidy Murray Foundation’s goal is to hold two major fundraising events a year.
Mr. Murray said doing good in Cassidy’s honor is the only way to cope with her loss.
“To help you heal is to help other people heal. For us to help someone else actually helps our healing.
