Helping Out: A Beacon to a Northeast community

Jeffrey Leonard

Founding partner, president and chief executive of Global Environment Fund, a private equity investment firm based in Chevy Chase.

Charitable giving highlights: Gave challenge grants to Beacon House, Strathmore Hall and Roundhouse Theater.

Personal: Lives in Chevy Chase with his wife, Carolyn. They have three children.

I was born in this city and lived here through the riots in the '60s. I've watched a lot of the social changes that happened over the years. My father was heavily involved in the civil rights movement and so was I.

We've always been involved in one way or another with organizations that give back something to the community. My family may not have been rich in dollars, but we were rich in education, so one thing we've always given was the value of our education. Therefore, I was very involved with my father in tutoring programs in the city for low--income kids.

In 1991, I became involved with Beacon House, which does tutoring, college-ready and mentoring programs to help the children in Northeast's Edgewood Terrace community have greater opportunities to further their education.

I became one of the first people to help Rev. Donald E. Robinson start it, eventually becoming chairman of the board. We did everything from fundraising to hanging sheetrock to helping parents find a safe place for their kids.

My wife and I gave them a challenge grant of over a million dollars to help keep them on a strong footing and raise additional funds through supporters. I've also been involved in the tutoring programs. It is all the more rewarding to know that I gave much with my heart and my hands to this organization before I was in a position to make a charitable contribution to enable Beacon House to maintain a permanent endowment.

I can't say enough of how great everyone's efforts have been over the years. They've been a part of a rejuvenation of the Edgewood community. It really has been a beacon by having after-school programs and recreational teams. Several of the Beacon House sports teams have been highly successful citywide. They use sports to stimulate good academic performance.

With Beacon House, it's been so remarkable, over a period of 20 years, to see how your giving and involvement can catalyze. This is a change in an entire community that has taken the effort of countless individuals.

-- Interview with Vanessa Mizell