“THEY’RE DOING SOMETHING GOOD, AND THEY’RE DOING IT WELL,”
Janet Loengard speaks on Riis Settlement’s legacy
Everyone who gives of their time or effort to Jacob A. Riis Settlement House is directly connected to the work we do. But we’d be hard-pressed to find someone like Ms. Janet Loengard who is both a great supporter of our work and has a connection with Jacob A. Riis’ family!
“Well, I married into “Riis House,” Ms. Loengard said, calling the settlement house by the same nickname Jacob Riis’ second wife Mary used to use.
Mary Riis looked after Ms. Loengard’s father-in-law when he was a child. When Ms. Loengard joined the family, supporting “Riis House” was something you were just expected to do. Ms. Loengard’s husband and daughter have served on Riis Settlement’s Board of Directors and Ms. Loengard even met Mary Riis once.
Click here to hear her talk about that evening with Ms. Mary Riis.
“He was one who took care of people,” Ms. Loengard said of her father-in-law. She thinks that’s why He was so involved with Riis Settlement, because he recognized that Riis Settlement helps take care of people too.
“You cannot give up!”
Ms. Loengard recently joined us for a tour of our community based-sites in the Queensbridge and Ravenswood New York City Housing Authority developments. She stopped by the senior center just after they’d finished lunch and saw many participants playing Bingo. Ms. Loengard greatly appreciated how Riis’ Senior Center gives many older adults an opportunity for social interaction. “I think it’s important,” she said. “I think you cannot give up. And I hope these ladies and gentleman (at the senior center) feel that way too. I hope this helps them feel that way.”
Ms. Loengard fully understood the important role Riis’ Senior Center plays. It’s a place where seniors can come and feel that they matter, she said. “I think getting people out of their houses and into a place where there are other people is important, and there’s an idea that there are people who are looking forward to seeing them and who want them there. I think that’s terribly important,” Ms. Loengard said.
On her tour, Ms. Loengard left the senior center and walked past the Basil in full bloom in our community garden. She pointed out the beginnings of a cayenne pepper hiding behind some leaves and marveled at how well the vegetables were doing. When asked about her interactions with young people, Ms. Loengard readily talks about her grandkids whose active energy helps keep her in touch with the younger generation. Though she hadn’t seen our youth programs in operation yet, Ms. Loengard, who is a Professor Emerita of Medieval English History and Pre-Modern English Legal History at Moravian College, made some really good guesses about the impact Riis Academy has on its young participants.
Are you equipped?
“I bet they come back to you after they are out of here, and I bet some of them even mentor younger students.” Ms. Loengard said. And she’s absolutely right. We have a number of college students who come back to talk with current Riis Academy participants about life on campus. “Anything you can do to get them ready (for college) helps. You don’t want to be the person who says to a young person, you’re not really equipped to be here.” We agree. That’s why Riis Academy’s after-school enrichment programs start preparing children for college while they are still in elementary school. Ms. Loengard walked past classrooms for our elementary grade participants that are named after local schools like John Jay College and City College. She also learned about our College Access Program which helps make sure all of our high school seniors have a plan for college and careers.
Ms. Loengard said she didn’t have much experience with the immigrant community but she knows all the work “Riis House” does for the extremely diverse community of Western Queens is important. Sometimes it’s hard to ask others to financially support a cause that is dear to you, but Ms. Loengard seems to have no problem in that area. She said If she wanted to tell her friends to get involved she would simply say: “They are doing something that needs to be done, and they’re doing it well.”
Thank you Ms. Loengard!
We thank Ms. Loengard for recognizing the value of helping people, and for making regular donations to “Riis House” that go a long way toward assisting those in need, especially during this challenging fiscal time. She has regularly given to our annual appeal held in December, she’s made contributions to our general fundraising efforts and supported our Legacy Awards event. If you think Riis Settlement is “doing something that needs to be done and doing it well,” then help us “take care of people.” Join Ms. Loengard by making a donation to support our free programs for the youth, immigrants and seniors of Western Queens. Thank you!
