Roger Englander Trust

“He kept it a secret from me for a long time,” says Carmela Geer, Executive Director of the Edward King House Senior Center, referring to Roger Englander, a reserved and gentle patron of the Senior Center for many years. “He never sought attention, you had to dig in to find out who he was.”

Roger, in fact, had two secrets. First, that he was an Emmy Award-winning producer and director of the acclaimed CBS musical television program, Young People’s Concerts, in collaboration with Leonard Bernstein. And second, that he planned on leaving a generous legacy gift for the support and sustainability of the Edward King House Senior Center, a place that meant so much to him.

Located in Newport, the Senior Center has been meeting the needs of the community for over 50 years. Through classes, programming, performances, and club activities for seniors, they offer older adults the ability to remain active, stay informed, and combat feelings of isolation. Roger, a frequent visitor to the Senior Center, loved to drop by Carmela’s office to chat about city politics, literacy, art and culture, as well as the importance of connection with others.

When Roger passed away, the Edward King House Senior Center had “no way of knowing that he had left this amazing gift that allowed us to create our first ever permanent endowment in his name,” explains Carmela. By establishing an organizational endowment fund with the Rhode Island Foundation, the Senior Center receives ‘the best of both worlds’ – the buffer to sustain general operating costs, for which many grants are not available, and a way to securely maintain principal. “It was not a hard sell to our Board of Directors that this was the appropriate path to take with the Foundation.”

The new fund also helps maintain what Carmela describes as “the atmosphere of yes” at the Edward King House Senior Center – the ability to say ‘yes’ to projects, concepts, and ideas, like the recently constructed Black Box Theatre, soon to be named “Camera 3” in honor of Roger and the backstage camera concept he pioneered. “Roger’s legacy allows us to leave a legacy,” says Carmela—one of caring, advocacy and sustainability. “Everything I know about being an advocate for older adults, I learned from Roger.”