News

Jurate Kazickas

January 15-21, 2020 visit to Lithuania

        My visit to Vilnius this January was extra special because I was accompanied by my husband, Roger Altman, who had not been to Lithuania since 2014. I was thrilled to have him with me but told him he needed to do at least one day of meetings with prominent Lithuanian business leaders and he kindly agreed. He also gave a speech on the world economy and US politics to a large crowd of students and professors at Vilnius University and met with local media. (Roger Altman interview with IQ magazine - LT - EN)

       Meanwhile my schedule was packed with more than a dozen meetings and events – just how I like it! - all perfectly arranged by the Vilnius staff: Agne, Arminas, Ieva, Lina. My brother John had his own busy schedule – which included visiting the new Mother’s Union facility, the renovated Vilnius Santaros Hospital Pediatric Oncology ward and the YC team in Miroslavas - so we covered a lot of ground during our short stay.

       A few highlights:

       Arminas and I made brief visits to some of the organizations that have provided pro bono assistance and goods to our YC youngsters: Vilnius Marathon, BC Vilniaus Rytas, Decathlon Lietuva and Sportpoint. I wanted to thank them personally for their generosity, interest and time. We are so fortunate to have them as partners.

      The ASSIST program, represented by Woody Rutter and Joe Gould, held its annual interviews of prospective exchange students at the Kazickas family residence, concluding with a reception for parents and alumni. I always enjoy speaking with the students about their experiences at US schools.

      On Sunday, we had a tour of the new MO museum in Vilnius with its founders, Dr. Viktoras and Danguole Butkus. What a marvelous addition to the city in a building designed by world famous architect Daniel Libeskind. It houses the Butkus family’s amazing collection of contemporary art by Lithuanian artists. The museum has had over 200,000 visitors since it opened in October of 2018 and was packed that day with families enjoying special children’s events.

      We concluded our visit there with a gathering of our YC youth from Vandziogala, Pumpenai, Lentvaris, Veliucionys for an informal discussion about “creativity” moderated by Arminas. I was delighted to meet and hear from several parents who were very enthusiastic about the YC programs and special events that they said had really benefitted their children. 

    We also were fortunate to spend a few hours with former President Adamkus and his wife Alma in their home. I feel very close to them as they were such good friends of my parents.

     An unforgettable moment of the trip came during a reception at Vilnius University when the rector prof. Arturas Zukauskas presented me with copies of papers (describe) transcripts of records of Jospeh P. Kazickas and Alexandra Kazickas at Vilnius University as well as the original of my mother’s report card from 1937. I was truly thrilled. This document will be a wonderful addition to our memorabilia celebrating Alexandra Kazickas’  Jubilee in June 2020.

      A final exciting highlight of my time in Vilnius was the informal dinner Roger, John and I had at the family residence with the newly elected President of Lithuania, Donatas Gitanas Nauseda and his lovely wife, Diana. We were totally charmed by the President who is not only highly intelligent but very outgoing and affable. I had met the First Lady in New York in September when we discussed the work of KFF so it was a pleasure to continue that conversation and to hear about her interests. We look forward to working together in the future on mutually helpful projects for the people of Lithuania, especially our youth.