R.I. Foundation awards $259K to fund Newport County services

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, ADRIAN Bonéy of the Rhode Island Foundation, is shown with Valerie Tutson of R.I. Black Story Tellers, Jessica Walsh and Olivia Kachingwe of the Women’s Resource Center of Newport and Bristol Counties, and Bari Freeman of Bike Newport. The three nonprofit organizations were among 40 that received grants from the Rhode Island Foundation on June 30. / COURTESY R.I. FOUNDATION
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, ADRIAN Bonéy of the Rhode Island Foundation, is shown with Valerie Tutson of R.I. Black Story Tellers, Jessica Walsh and Olivia Kachingwe of the Women’s Resource Center of Newport and Bristol Counties, and Bari Freeman of Bike Newport. The three nonprofit organizations were among 40 that received grants from the Rhode Island Foundation on June 30. / COURTESY R.I. FOUNDATION

NEWPORT – Forty organizations serving the needs of Newport County residents will share $259,000 from the Rhode Island Foundation’s Newport County Fund, the organization said Thursday.

Neil D. Steinberg, the foundation’s president and CEO, thanked the donors and residents of Newport County for helping to facilitate the awards.
“From enriching arts and educational opportunities for young people to underwriting critical health and environmental programs, we are proud to work with partners that are improving lives here,” he said in a statement.

The grants, offered in denominations of up to $10,000, focused on seven topics: arts and culture, basic human needs, children and families, economic security, environment, healthy lives and housing.

Organizations which received funding provide a range of services to the residents of Newport County including after-school activities, job readiness training, preventing relationship violence and stocking food pantries.

- Advertisement -

Organizations which received the top grants of $10,000 from the Rhode Island Foundation were:

  • Day One received $10,000 to support the Children’s Advocacy Center and clinical services for child and adult victims of sexual violence in Newport County. Last year, the CAC reported a 28 percent increase over 2014 in the number of adults and children served.
  • Lucy’s Hearth of Middletown received $10,000 to provide emergency shelter and trauma-focused support services for homeless mothers and their children. Funds will cover the cost of staffing, programming, basic needs and supplies.
  • The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center of Newport received $10,000 to expand its Nutrition Education Program, which offers nutritional education to its clients and develops innovative food and nutrition delivery systems for underserved populations, as well as to launch a wellness program.
  • Newport Community School received $10,000 to continue implementing its summer learning programs, including Grade Transition Programs. Offered after grades 5, 8 and 11, the initiative alleviates student anxiety, encourages grade readiness and provides initial academic preparedness for the new grade level and aids academic performance and extended learning summer programming.
  • Rhode Island Mentoring Partnership received $10,000 to support mentoring activities for up to 125 children in Newport and Middletown public schools.
  • Turning Around Ministriesof Newport received $10,000 to provide supportive services, including clothing, job readiness training and financial assistance for education and medical needs, to disadvantaged Newport County residents.
  • United Baptist Church of Newport received $10,000 to support its Community Meal Ministry. The grant will be used to help offset the cost of utilities, fire suppression upkeep and cleaning, as well as to upgrade the men’s bathroom to provide handicap accessibility, install a new door for the handicap entrance and clean up the back hall storage area.
  • Washington Square Services Corp. received $10,000 to hire a full-time employment counselor who will help clients of the McKinney Cooperative Shelter obtain the education and training they need to find jobs.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Newport County received $15,000 to fund two proposals. The club received $10,000 to expand its College and Career Prep program and an additional $5,000 grant will underwrite educational enrichment activities for Newport students during the summer vacation through the Newport Partnership for Families.

Other grant winners were: The American Red Cross ($5,000), Aquidneck Island Land Trust ($5,000), Baby Steps ($7,500), The Best Buddies Newport County Friendship Project ($2,500), Bike Newport ($5,510), Common Fence Music ($7,000), Cornerstone Adult Services ($7,279), The Fort Adams Trust ($7,500), Friends of Ballard Park ($5,000), The Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England ($5,000), Island Moving Company ($8,000), Jamestown Arts Center ($4,000), Jamestown Community Chorus ($1,500), Jamestown Education Foundation ($5,185), The Katie Brown Educational Program ($5,000), Middletown Historical Society ($1,300), Newport School Department ($6,500), Newport String Project ($9,000), Portsmouth Free Library ($8,000), Rhode Island Black Storytellers ($3,000), The Saint Clare Home ($4,500), Salvation Army ($6,000), Seamen’s Church Institute ($5,000), The St. Vincent de Paul Society/St. Joseph’s Conference of Newport ($7,500), The Star Kids Scholarship Program ($5,000), Taylor Point Restoration Association ($7,000), Tiverton Public Library ($2,500), Trinity Episcopal Church ($3,000), Visiting Nurse Services ($5,000) and The Women’s Resource Center of Newport County ($9,726).

Newport County residents John Ellis, William Harvey, Kristen Humphrey, Victoria Johnson, John Murphy and John Trifero made up the advisory council which worked with the board to determine funding allocation.

The NCF, which was established in 2002, has awarded more than $3.5 million in grants for services and programs for residents of Jamestown, Little Compton, Middletown, Newport, Portsmouth and Tiverton.

No posts to display