CROP WALK
Biographical information on Janie Schildge April 2015
I am a community volunteer and speaker, involved in many issues including environmental, health, education and justice, as well as world hunger and poverty. I am also a world traveller, hiker, gardener, engaged citizen and devoted grandmother of six. I am an active member of the United Methodist Church of Red Bank serving as Outreach Chair; a member of League of Women Voters; and Citizens Climate Lobby. As a volunteer I have benefitted from visiting service projects around the world to better understand the root causes of hunger and poverty, and the connection between how we in North America live, how we impact millions of others in our world, and how we can make a positive difference. As I see it, “the world we live in is small, fragile and interdependent. We all need to respect and care for each other as it is the only way we will survive.
Born in NYC where my parents were in the teaching profession, I moved to the North Shore of Chicago and to Gainesville, Florida before attending college. After graduating from Michigan State University (B.A. 1961) and Indiana University (M.A.T. 1963), I spent a year in India, teaching history and social studies at the American School in New Delhi, and travelling with US Information Service programs and with my sister and parents to many parts of the country. After returning home to the US, I married George Schildge, a small business owner, and we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary last year. Over these years we have lived in Clark, Mountainside and Colts Neck, New Jersey, where we raised our two children, Heather and Dan. Dan is now the CEO of the family business after 8 years with the US Navy, and Heather is a Legal Advisor with US Agency for International Development. Each have three children.
I became involved with community issues and with our children’s schools. In 1981, through friends in the United Methodist Church, I joined the Red Bank Crop Walk committee, and in 1985 became coordinator. And I am still coordinator, after all these years, and have met hundreds of wonderful people who really care about their neighbors and understand that together we can accomplish so much.