Beaudreau to lead R.I. Service Alliance

PROVIDENCE – Bernard J. Beaudreau, who led the Rhode Island Community Food Bank for 11 years before leaving in 2006 to join the Chicago-based Global FoodBanking Network, will return to the Ocean State as executive director of the Rhode Island Service Alliance, the nonprofit’s board of commissioners said today.
The announcement came during a news conference this morning at Mount Hope Learning Center on Cypress Street, where RISA also announced $573,668 in new federal grants for three local AmeriCorps programs: The Howard R. Swearer Center for Public Service at Brown University’s National College Advising Corps will receive $192,132; The Mount Hope Learning Center’s Mount Hope Corps will receive $204,466; and the Providence Children’s Museum will receive $177,070.
Those grants represent a significant share – 3.9 percent by total amount, and 6.1 percent by number – of the 49 grants, totaling $14.68 million, that were awarded nationwide. Another $1.18 million in second-year AmeriCorps funding, awarded in a separate national competition, will be announced later this month, RISA said.
Members of Rhode Island’s congressional delegation today applauded both the grants and Beaudreau’s selection.
“I am pleased that the Rhode Island Service Alliance is receiving this critical federal funding to help these outstanding programs continue to increase education opportunities throughout Rhode Island,” U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, a member of the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees AmeriCorps funding, said in a statement . “These AmeriCorps grants will enable Brown University, Mount Hope Learning Center and the Providence Children’s Museum to make certain that kids have access to mentoring, after-school and educational programs.”
“The Rhode Island Service Alliance has been a valuable organization for the State of Rhode Island for many years,” added U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy. “Its dedication and service to the
people of our state have helped countless individuals over the years and I am pleased that these funds will extend their helpful reach to include many more.
“I would also like to congratulate Bernie Beaudreau on his recent appointment as executive director,” Kennedy said. “The alliance will only continue to excel under Bernie’s strong leadership.”
Beaudreau is currently the Global FoodBanking Network’s vice president for development. Before joining the Rhode Island Community Food Bank in 1995, he was director of resource and constituency development at Oxfam America in Boston, where he had worked for 11 years in outreach and fundraising. He also had worked in fundraising, program planning, community organizing and grant-writing for various local institutions and nonprofits.
A graduate of the University of Rhode Island – where he received a bachelor’s degree in urban affairs in 1977 and a master’s degree in community planning in 1979 – Beaudreau was honored with a URI Distinguished Achievement Award in 2006 for his success in growing the Rhode Island Food Bank, which tripled its output during his tenure.
He is slated to take over from Maxim Fetissenko, RISA’s interim executive director, effective June 1.
The Rhode Island Service Alliance, an independent nonprofit organization founded in 1994, receives state and federal support to administer local AmeriCorps, Learn & Serve America and other community and national service programs. For more information, call 331-2298 or visit www.riservicealliance.org.