‘Time’: the Future of Kennedy’s Charity to Help the Mentally Disabled

While many in the world of publishing and beyond ponder the fate of George magazine following the death of its founder, John F. Kennedy, Jr., Time magazine (August 2) wonders about the future of another Kennedy brainchild — a charity called Reaching Up, which helps people who work with the mentally disabled improve their career opportunities through training and education.

In an article titled “Answering the Call,” the magazine writes that Reaching Up “could be Kennedy’s most important legacy, even if George survives.”

Mr. Kennedy founded the charity in 1987 in response to a challenge issued by his aunt, Eunice Shriver, the article states. Mrs. Shriver challenged Kennedy family members to come up with ways to help the mentally disabled. Winning proposals would receive $50,000 to get started. Mr. Kennedy’s project was one of the winners.

“Rather than finding a needy hospital to toss cash at, he discovered a mostly ignored problem, the inadequate education and dismal pay of front-line workers in mental health,” Time writes.

Reaching Up and Mr. Kennedy’s other charitable interests represented a generational change in how the Kennedys fulfilled their social responsibilities, Time says. “In many ways he embodied a “new, entrepreneurial kind of Kennedy philanthropy,” the article states.

“It doesn’t diminish the Shrivers’ Special Olympics or Jacqueline Onassis’ fund raising for Grand Central Terminal to note that John practiced a hands-on generosity that reflects a younger generation of givers, folks impressed more by proved outcomes than by black-tie benefits.”

The chances that Reaching Up will survive are good, Time says, because “it has become integrated into New York universities and the health-care groups it helps.”

The article also highlights the good works of Mr. Kennedy’s sister, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, who supports the arts and helped found the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation’s Profile in Courage Awards.

The magazine also contains a synopsis of the family’s public service through three generations.

The articles are available on Time’s Web site at http://www.time.com.