Honoring a Daughter by Helping Others

Lois Lowenstein works with student

For Manhattan Comprehensive students, the Lissa Florman Eyeglass Fund provides essential resources to help with emergency expenses. In other words, it’s not just for glasses. As its founder, Lois Lowenstein, says, “The term ‘eyeglass’ is a metaphor for students’ basic but critical needs.”

Lowenstein, a neighborhood resident who is now a great-grandmother, discovered Manhattan Comprehensive 14 years ago when she walked by the building and saw a sign asking for volunteer tutors. She had just suffered the untimely loss of her daughter. For Lowenstein, a retired social worker, volunteering at the school gave her renewed purpose. She found Manhattan Comprehensive students to be “determined and diligent, with a will to persevere.” She also noticed that often they couldn’t afford simple things they needed. She decided to create an emergency fund to provide for these situations, and named it in memory of her daughter, who herself had worked with justice-involved teenagers in Boston. Today, Lissa Florman’s legacy continues to make an impact at the school.

CYD’s Assistant Executive Director, Margaret Aylward, said, “The Fund is a godsend. For many of our students, a relatively small expense can create a huge obstacle to health, success, or even survival.” Manhattan Comprehensive is an entryway to life in the U.S. for many students; some of the newest are asylum seekers bused in from border states. Thanks to Lois Lowenstein’s generosity, CYD can help when they need a warm coat, a trip to the dentist, a ticket for bereavement travel – or a pair of eyeglasses.

Your dollars make a difference!

Without the support of each and every one of our individual donors, the stories you read about and the programs that make an impact in the lives of our young people would not be possible. Thank you!

`

0