Celebration Rescheduled from September 26 to October 10.
On Saturday, October 10, RISE (Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability and Equity) celebrates 20 years of inspiring generations of Rockaway residents to care for their environment and community. The free event held at the RISE building on Beach 58th Street will feature live music by jazz guitarist and composer, Keith Jordan; Peruvian cuisine by Leyla Yrala of La Cevicheria, drinks, an art exhibition of RISE’s community initiatives and an auction featuring the work of 17 artists. For RISE’s founder/executive director, Jeanne DuPont, this event commemorates two decades of serving thousands of community members since its humble beginnings operating out of a tent in front of Far Rockaway High School. She said, “We started with really nothing, and I feel very fortunate that people believed in us.”
Founded in 2005 by DuPont, RISE, originally known as Rockaway Waterfront Alliance, Inc., is a non-profit organization based in Far Rockaway offering opportunities for the peninsula’s east end residents to participate in civic engagement and environmental stewardship. Some of the organization’s initiatives include dune restorations, internships for high school students, and food accessibility. Their first community-led planning effort led to the creation of a 28-acre waterfront park on a lot off Beach 27th Street that had been an illegal dumping ground. Another major accomplishment was transforming a dilapidated firehouse on Beach 58th Street and Rockaway Beach Blvd into RISE’s headquarters—today a hub for youth and community programming.
DuPont was inspired to get involved in community organizing after she moved to the Far Rockaway Beach Bungalow Historic District in the Beach 20s.
She said, “I’d never seen a coastal community quite as diverse that attracted people from all over. I started to wonder. Why is nobody using the shoreline? Why is nobody in the schools bringing the kids out to learn more about where they were living?”
DuPont said a major part of the exhibit at RISE’s 20th celebration on Saturday will showcase the grassroots work that she first pioneered in Far Rockaway.
“In the beginning, it was all about gathering the community and getting them to fight for protecting the character of their neighborhood,” she said.
DuPont, whose vocational background is in fashion design, said moving to Rockaway inspired her passion for community advocacy.
“I was never a vocal fighter or advocate, but I suddenly got this burst of energy of like, ‘We can do it if we work together.’ Community organizing and getting people to connect is a very powerful thing. So, what began as a grassroots effort of organizing my neighbors is what really started RISE.
“I discovered that young people had a larger voice and influence than they knew. That was shown to me in the very early days when I was organizing a cleanup on Beach 26th Street, where there was a lot of dumping by contractors. The kids confided in me that these contractors were telling the public that it was the neighborhood’s families doing the dumping. So, I gave the kids a disposable camera and told them to document it, which surprised the contractors, and that changed everything. That opened my eyes and showed me that young people have a superpower if they’re given the tools and taught how to fight for their community,” she said.
Dupont said that a big turning point was when Hurricane Sandy hit. “I was waiting for emergency services like the American Red Cross. Somebody said, ‘They’re not coming.’ I was like, ‘What do you mean they’re not coming?’ The individual said, ‘If you don’t get into action here, then there is no help on the way.’ It really resonated with me that a big part of building community resilience is not just building barriers for the shoreline. It’s actually building resilience within community members, and that takes time.”
As for the name change from Rockaway Waterfront Alliance (RWA) to RISE, DuPont said it was the realization that though environmental sustainability and coastal resilience were the organization’s initial thrusts, their focus had broadened.
She said, “RWA was really exclusively focused around water. However, we were doing a lot more than that. We were working with the NYC’s departments of Health and Mental Hygiene, Cultural Affairs, and Office of Emergency Management. I realized we’re really not an environmental conservation organization. We’re a community development organization. So, it was not just looking at the natural environment itself but actually being there to support the physical wellness and health of the community.
“As soon as we rebranded, the pandemic hit, and if we hadn’t pivoted, we probably wouldn’t have gotten as involved or able to support the community in the way we had during COVID. People realized that we were boots on the ground, and willing to get involved and do work that a relief organization or others would have done.”
Under DuPont’s leadership, RISE has grown. Today, the nonprofit employs six full-time and 18 part-time workers and has 42 high school summer interns, who receive stipends for their work. In the past 20 years, RISE has served 40,000 community members. The latest initiatives are a native plant nursery, seed bank, and educational garden, which are tied into dune restoration, part of the “Greater Rockaway” Coastal Resilience Plan.
Saturday’s exhibit, put together by Dupont’s husband, John DuPont’s company, Sequel Studios, features 20 years of RISE’s initiatives.
DuPont said, “One of the big takeaways from this exhibit is that all of the work we do has come out of community engagement. People will get a chance to take a look, and hopefully understand why, for example, we started a farmer’s market. All of our initiatives are spurred on by need and input from residents about what’s lacking in the community.”
DuPont said she is grateful for all the organization has accomplished with her staff, board of directors and community partners. And what shines is seeing how the youth have gone on to pursue higher education and careers around environmental sustainability and community building.
One such youth is Quinn Robinson, who penned an article in The Rockaway Times (August 14, 2025): “How Volunteer Work Helped Me Further My Love for Environmental Science” about her experience as a Dune Squad Member in RISE’s Living Classroom.
Robinson stated, “Growing up, I never really thought about turning my love for the environment into a career—that is until I got introduced to RISE when I was in P.S./M.S. 43Q The School by the Sea.” Today, Robinson is pursuing a degree in environmental science at Kingsborough College.
Join RISE at their 20th Anniversary celebration Saturday, October 10, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at: 58-03 Rockaway Beach Boulevard. To RSVP and for more info,www.riserockaway.org/rise/events/
