The Barbara Bush Foundation announced that it has awarded a $65,000 grant to Crossroads Rhode Island in Providence to fund the development of a Family Literacy Program. Crossroads was one of ten grant recipients chosen from nearly 400 applications. Since its inception in 1989, the Foundation has awarded over $30 million to more than 700 family literacy programs in all 50 states including our nation’s capital.

“Reading aloud to children, early and often, is the single most important thing that a parent can do to help a child start school ready to learn,” said Barbara Bush. “And, parents who are able to read, write and comprehend can get better jobs, improve their families’ lives, and participate more fully in their communities as well. That’s why the projects we fund must provide literacy instruction for parents as well as their children.”

Crossroads Rhode Island is the largest provider of comprehensive services to the homeless and disconnected in the state of Rhode Island. After responding to the most urgent, immediate needs, Crossroads identifies the underlying issues and searches for long term solutions. Crossroads offers an environment that reflects the compassionate philosophy of care in the secure private space needed to make a difference in the lives of those served. The center is a national model for providing access to comprehensive crisis intervention, housing, health care, vocational training and education, and information and referrals – all under a single roof. Crossroads provides services and support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to thousands of homeless individuals and families each year.

“We are very proud to be a recipient of this prestigious award. This grant will allow Crossroads to establish a comprehensive family literacy program to help the many families affected by homelessness and living in our family shelter.” said Anne Nolan, President of Crossroads Rhode Island.

The Smith family of North Kingstown working on a family literacy project.

Cicely Dove, Director of the Family Center for Crossroads Rhode Island, was excited to learn of the grant award. “The program will assist these families as they work to become self-sufficient and break the cycle of poverty. Children’s learning should not be compromised because they are homeless – this grant will help us ensure that does not happen.”

GTECH Corporation announced that it has received the Corporate Award by the Urban League of Rhode Island (ULRI) for GTECH's nationwide community-giving program, After School Advantage. The Company was honored at ULRI's 19th annual luncheon held on April 8, 2009, in Providence. The Corporate Award was created to recognize outstanding corporate citizenship in the community.

ULRI is a community-based, non-profit organization with a mission to eliminate racial discrimination and segregation in Rhode Island, and to achieve parity for minorities and the poor.

The GTECH After School Advantage program provides non-profit community agencies with state-of-the-art, Internet ready computer centers for children to access during the critical after-school hours. For each After School Advantage lab, GTECH donates an average of $15,000 in flat-panel computers, educational software, furniture, and employee volunteer hours. More than 125 After School Advantage computer centers are successfully operating across the United States and Canada, in jurisdictions where the Company has offices.

"We are honored to receive this award by a respected organization such as the Urban League of Rhode Island. As an industry leader, GTECH seeks to give something back to the various communities that make our Company strong," said GTECH Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs Robert K. Vincent. "We believe that pairing employee involvement with financial support creates a synergy that grant-making alone cannot achieve. Technology plays a significant role in education today, and through GTECH's After School Advantage, we are committed to bridging the digital divide for at-risk youth in our communities and helping them to develop the skills they need to compete in a technologically-advancing society.

The College Crusade of Rhode Island Receives Foundation Grant Awards Totaling $85,000

The College Crusade of Rhode Island recently received three grant awards totaling $85,000 to support college-readiness programs and services for youth in Rhode Island’s low-income urban school districts. The organization received a gift of $50,000 from the Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation, Bank of America, Trustee; a gift of $20,000 from the Amgen Foundation; and a gift of $15,000 from Textron Charitable Trust.

The grants help to underwrite a wide range of College Crusade programs designed to increase student readiness for college, including extracurricular reading and math enrichment, SAT test preparation, campus visits, leadership development opportunities, career exploration activities, and financial aid workshops. The grant also supports the services of College Crusade Advisors, who counsel students in middle schools and high schools throughout Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence, and Woonsocket about how to get ready for college.


“These are challenging times for funders and for organizations working to address the fundamental needs of our communities,” said Robert Oberg, director of development for The College Crusade. “On behalf of thousands of Rhode Island students who have dedicated themselves to academic achievement despite economic and cultural obstacles, we thank these foundations for investing so generously in college readiness at this critical juncture. Their important gifts will make a lasting difference in the lives of many hard-working young people – from high school seniors looking forward to a college acceptance letter to sixth graders who are just starting out on the college path.”

“The College Crusade of Rhode Island is an impressive program that represents many of the values that Mr. Balfour honored in his lifetime, in particular its emphasis on educational achievement and support for the postsecondary aspirations of underserved youth,” said Kim Igoe-Kasper, senior foundation officer, Bank of America. “As Trustee of the Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation, we are pleased to contribute this gift as an investment in young people who aim high and seek to equip themselves for successful futures.”

The College Crusade of Rhode Island is the state’s most comprehensive college-readiness and scholarship program for middle school and high school students in low-income urban school districts. It serves approximately 3,800 students per year and rewards the efforts and achievements of financially eligible students with up to four years of college scholarships. From grade 6 through grade 12, Crusaders experience the steady, nurturing presence of caring adults and participate in activities that focus on academic enrichment, social and personal development, career awareness and exploration, and readiness for college. Students who are members of The College Crusade graduate and go right on to college at much higher rates than their peers in the state’s urban school districts. Since 2001, The College Crusade has awarded over $20 million in college scholarships to more than 2,700 graduates from Rhode Island high schools. For more information, please visit www.thecollegecrusade.org. The College Crusade is a nonprofit organization funded by a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s GEAR UP program, by the State of Rhode Island, and by private corporations, foundations, and individuals.

Three Providence-based nonprofit organizations were named the beneficiaries of more than $11,000 that was managed by 15 Providence College (PC) students enrolled in a philanthropy class.

The Special Topics in Public and Community Service course offered through the College’s Department of Public and Community Service Studies donated $6,000 to The Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence, $2,650 to Mary House Ministries, and $2,500 to Elmhurst Clean & Green. The announcement was made during a ceremony on May 7 on campus.

The ceremony capped a semester-long effort that saw the students manage a $15,000 giving account—which they named the Making a Difference Fund—as part of the Fidelity Investments Students4Giving program. While the course was offered last spring, this was the first time that students were charged with managing and disbursing funds.

Last September, PC was chosen as one of only 10 higher-education institutions in the country to participate in the program, which is sponsored by the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund and Campus Compact.

PC was the only Rhode Island college or university selected from among the 21 schools nationwide that submitted proposals to participate. Among the other schools chosen were The George Washington University, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Northeastern University.

The process of selecting the grant recipients began when nine local organizations submitted requests for proposals early in the spring semester.

Course member Lucy C. Yost ’09 of Silver Spring, Md., said the final three nonprofits were selected because the class believed they would make a “real difference” in the community.

“We wanted to have a real impact with what we had to donate, and we believed that these three organizations could help us accomplish that,” Yost said.

The Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence is a Providence-based organization whose mission is to teach by word and example the principles and practice of nonviolence. The funding it received from PC will support the institute’s Youth Programming department, which provides jobs and leadership development.

The Boys & Girls Club of Woonsocket has received a $25,000 grant to fund a new parental component for its “Healthy Kids are Happy Kids” program. The Boys & Girls Club received the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI) BlueAngel Community Health Grant recently at the parental engagement kick-off event in Woonsocket.

The “Healthy Kids are Happy Kids” program helps at-risk youth in building positive self-images through health and fitness, improving eating habits through nutritional instruction, and learning appropriate stress-reduction tactics. The BCBSRI BlueAngel funds will be used to enhance the program with parental engagement and education.

“Healthy nutrition and healthy exercise are what is needed to get ‘Healthercised,’” said Dan Grabowski, executive director at the Boys & Girls Club of Woonsocket. “We incorporate this concept every day for the children of our Boys & Girls Club. However, once they go home, we want our kids to experience the same, which is why we are incorporating the parents into the get ‘Healthercised’ concept, with nutritional education and healthy, fun exercise at the Club.”

Clear evidence supports an association between poverty and obesity, with low-income families at the highest risk. “Healthy Kids are Happy Kids” helps families incorporate exercise and good eating habits into their daily lives. This, in turn, promotes better weight control, improved nutrition, stronger bodies, and a more balanced image of themselves.

“BCBSRI strongly supports education and prevention for at-risk teenagers so they can make healthy choices for themselves,” said Linda Newton, vice president of diversity and community relations at BCBSRI. “Our contribution to the Boys & Girls Club of Woonsocket is an example of our commitment towards programs like the ‘Healthy Kids are Happy Kids’ that succeed in bringing resources directly to those who need them the most.”

BlueAngel Community Health Grants are given annually to Rhode Island organizations that focus on health promotion and prevention as well as access to healthcare for the uninsured and underinsured. It is the largest component of the philanthropy program at BCBSRI and is led by an all-volunteer committee comprised of 16 community members from various Rhode Island affiliations. The group conducts site visits prior to the final review and selection of the recipients.

The Boys & Girls Club of Woonsocket works to enable and inspire children and youth, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, responsible and healthy members of their community and society.

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island is the state's leading health insurer and covers more than 600,000 members. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information, please visit www.bcbsri.com.

For nearly two decades, Rhode Island Letter Carriers have been pulling double-duty on the Saturday before Mother’s Day – delivering the mail along their daily routes, while also collecting food donations for the state’s hungry.

With the Rhode Island Community Food Bank experiencing a 25% increase in the number of people seeking food assistance over the last six months, the National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive could not have come at a better time. Despite a wet start to the day, Rhode Island Letter Carriers collected a statewide total of more than 200,000 pounds of food, with 150,000 pounds directly delivered to the Food Bank.

“The hard work and dedication of our Letter Carriers inspired the community’s response to this year’s drive, which was extremely generous,” commented Andrew Schiff, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. “Everyone is feeling the pressure of a difficult economic climate, yet Rhode Islanders are always there to do what they can to help their neighbors.”

The food collected through this year’s effort will help the Food Bank prepare for the summer, a time of year where there is a further uptick in people seeking help through food pantries, meal sites and other programs. “The summer is always difficult because children are out of school and they are not receiving school breakfast and lunch. This places additional strain on the food budgets of thousands of low-income families,” added Schiff.

The Food Bank relies on continuous donations of money and food to sustain operations year-round. “It is great to know that our community understands that hunger does not take a vacation, that it’s a year-round problem for so many,” stated Schiff.

The Rhode Island Community Food Bank expresses its appreciation to the National Association of Letter Carriers, the U.S. Postal Service, the United Way of Rhode Island and the local AFL-CIO for sponsoring the annual food drive in its 17th year.

Currently, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank feeds more than 45,000 Rhode Islanders each month through a network of certified member agency programs. According to the USDA, nearly 11% of all Rhode Island households, representing 115,000 people, are at risk for hunger. Additionally, one out of every six Rhode Island children experience hunger.

The Rhode Island Community Food Bank is a non-profit organization located in Providence, RI. The Food Bank solicits, stores and distributes food products donated by supermarkets, wholesalers, food processors, local farmers and community food drives. The food is then distributed to the Food Bank’s network of 285 member agencies. In the past fiscal year, the Food Bank distributed 8.3 million pounds of food. For more information about the Food Bank, please visit www.rifoodbank.org

The Steel Yard, a non-profit agency that provides work space and education programs, has been awarded a $200,000 grant from the RI Economic Development Corporation to assist In funding the redevelopment of the former Providence Steel and Iron Complex located at 27 Sims Avenue in Providence. Additional funds in the amount of $400,000 were received from the USEPA in 2007 and the Steel Yard has been actively raising matching funds to complete the clean up which will cost close to one million dollars.

Providence Steel historically applied lead based paint to steel beams. Overspray from the painting operations resulted in elevated levels of lead in soils at the site. As approved by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM), the soils with the highest concentrations of lead were excavated and treated on site, and disposed at a licensed hazardous waste landfill. The RIDEM is also requiring that all remaining soil at the site be covered with buildings, pavement, 2 feet of clean soil, or one foot of clean soil over a barrier. The grant will be used to cap all the remaining soils at the site with a combination of clean soil and permeable pavement. The project also includes the construction of a storm water collection system that results in no discharge of storm water to the City sewer system.

The Steel Yard has scheduled a public information session on Saturday, June 13th at 10 AM at the site at 27 Sims Avenue to present the details of the project and answer any questions from the public.