Education was a family affair for Janet Lambert.

“When I was eleven, I told my mother I wanted to be an occupational therapist,” she recalls. “As a result, she made me go to work with my godmother, who was in the profession. By the time I was in high school, I had gotten my first paying job working in the occupational therapy department at the local hospital.”

The rest is history. By the time Janet retired, she had served as the chief of occupational therapy at Georgetown University and as an occupational therapist at Sibley Memorial Hospital.

“Education was really important to my parents, and they instilled a desire to learn and the value of hard work in me,” she shared.

It was family ties that bound Janet to GW, prompted by her second husband, Eugene Lambert, CCAS AA ’55, BA ’57.

“Gene felt that it was because of the Columbian College he was able to get such a spectacular education and become a successful lawyer,” she stated. “One of the first things he talked about when we met was how important GW was to him, and how he wanted to get involved and to give back.”

Gene got his wish. Over the years, the pair became a welcome fixture around Foggy Bottom as Gene served as chair of the Heritage Society, president of the GW Alumni Association, founding member of Columbian College’s National Council for the Arts and Sciences, and GW alumnus trustee.

“We would go to whatever we got invited to,” Janet recalls, “and naturally became very involved with the campus.”

That involvement also included philanthropy. Janet and Gene established several funds to benefit GW students, including a fund Gene set up to honor Janet’s late first husband. One of the many ways Janet has supported the causes at GW that she cares about is through charitable gift annuities (CGAs).

A CGA provides fixed income for life in exchange for a gift of $10,000 or more. This gift arrangement can be funded with cash or appreciated securities and offers a trifecta of advantages: predictable payments, attractive tax benefits, and the satisfaction of making a generous future gift to GW.

“Charitable gift annuities are a wonderful opportunity for older adults and a great way to donate,” Janet says. “It’s nice to get that check in the mail every quarter, but even nicer to know that I’m supporting GW students at the same time.”

It turns out, not only does a deep love for education run in Janet’s family — CGAs do, too. At the age of 90, Janet’s mother, Marion, set up her first of two gift annuities with GW to support the Department of Theater and Dance.

“After I married Gene, my mother would come to DC to visit, and he would take her to see whatever play or recital was showing on campus at the time,” she remembers. “My mother loved watching the students perform, and she loved being able to donate to the program in a way that made sense for her financially.”

Although GW is not her alma mater, Janet’s Buff & Blue roots run deep.

“Whatever was important to Gene became very important to me,” she shares. “And he loved GW.”

Like Janet, you too can deepen your GW connection — no degree required. Contact Dean Regenovich, JD, LLM at (202) 748-4532 or dean.regenovich@gwu.edu to learn more about your options. We would love to hear from you.