Los Altos Philanthropist Wins Prestigious Award For Years Of Service

From Constance Dillon:

Janet Martin Fenwick has received Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women’s prestigious Carolyn Helman Lichtenberg Crest Award in honor of her community service. Jan has been a tireless volunteer for the Los Altos community for more than four decades.

The Carolyn Helman Lichtenberg Crest Award is presented annually to distinguished alumnae of Pi Beta Phi who exhibit excellence and outstanding leadership in their career or volunteer service to their communities. The award is named for past Pi Beta Phi President Carolyn Helman Lichtenberg, who was instrumental in forming Pi Beta Phi Foundation during her term from 1985 to 1991. Crucial Fraternity initiatives, like leadership development programs and academic scholarships, are supported through the stewardship of the Foundation.

“I am truly flabbergasted to receive this award because I am sure there are many who are more deserving,” Jan said. “It’s such a thoughtful act on the part of my Pi Phi sisters to nominate me. Pi Phi truly is about friendship, contributing to the community and being here for one another.”

Since 1976, Jan has worked with Environmental Volunteers, a nonprofit providing hands-on science education for elementary school children. Her work includes hosting field trips and facilitating classroom nature studies. She also played a major role in fundraising for the group’s new EcoCenter, a remodeled historic building in the Palo Alto Baylands providing programs, events and exhibits.

Jan has used her lovely home in Los Altos Hill to bring people together to share ideas, make connections and raise awareness and support for nonprofit organizations. The house has become a community asset, as well as a family home, hosting guests such as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and the Rev. Jesse Jackson, as well as famed author Frank McCourt, presidential scholar Haynes Johnson, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former PBS commentator Bill Moyers.

She has also given her time to the Foothill Community College Commission, The Los Altos Morning Forum, the Purissima Hills Water District, the Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View and Planned Parenthood Advocates Mar Monte.

In 2000, Jan and her husband received the Josephine and Frank Duveneck Humanitarian Award from Hidden Villa nature preserve in Los Altos Hills. The award honors inspirational leaders who exemplify Hidden Villa’s mission to inspire a just and sustainable future.

In 2005, Jan was named Los Altan of the Year by the Los Altos Town Crier, an annual honor going to the resident whose work builds goodwill by strengthening the Los Altos area’s reputation as a high-quality community. The newspaper recognized Jan for her quiet guidance, which has helped myriad local organizations flourish.

About Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women:

Founded in 1867 at Monmouth College in Illinois, Pi Beta Phi has installed 200 collegiate chapters and nearly 300 alumnae organizations worldwide. Pi Beta Phi promotes friendship, develops women of intellect and integrity, cultivates leadership potential and enriches the lives of members and their communities.

The Fraternity believes in the power of reading and through its philanthropy, Read > Lead > Achieve, promotes a lifelong love of reading that can unlock true potential. For more information, visit www.pibetaphi.org or follow Pi Phi on Twitter and Facebook.