Contact: Michael J. Cerio | michael@ceriocommunications.com | (401) 743-8269
Olneyville Programs Awarded $182,708 in Grants by United Way
Providence, R.I. (June 27, 2022) Through its Olneyville Community Fund, United Way of Rhode Island has awarded $182,708 in grants to programs whose work is strengthening the Providence neighborhood it calls home. The investments focus on creating opportunities for all by improving access to services for residents, enhancing educational offerings for children through adults, and increasing nonprofit capacity to meet community need. Eleven organizations received funding.
“Every day in Olneyville, nonprofits are taking an innovative approach to creating positive, lasting change and we want to help make sure they have the resources to continue that work,” said Roshni Darnal, United Way’s director of community investments. “For Olneyville to thrive at its best, we need our neighbors to have equitable opportunity, and for that to happen, we must remove the barriers that hold far too many Rhode Islanders back.”
Inspiring Minds, an education agency that promotes equity and access for youth from elementary age through college and to career-ready, received $20,000 in funding. The organization will use the grant to support out-of-school time learning programs, including its KidsBridge summer initiative and its Explorers workforce development program. With KidsBridge, the organization works with 100 young students and their families to support their social-emotional needs and transition to kindergarten in the fall. The Explorers program targets BIPOC youth and young adults (ages 15-24) considering a career in education and pairs them with volunteer mentors and tutors.
Another funded organization is the Olneyville Neighborhood Association, which is dedicated to human rights and justice, and building community power among the culturally diverse residents who call the area home. Its $20,000 grant will help to fund empowerment programs such as the Language Exchange initiative, allowing for Spanish-speaking and English-speaking community members to come together to learn each other’s language and culture. It will also support Proyecto Agri Cultura, an effort that teaches and helps residents to grow vegetables and herbs at home.
A full list of grantee organizations is as follows:
- Amenity Aid
- Children’s Friend
- Clínica Esperanza/Hope Clinic
- Community Libraries of Providence
- FirstWorks
- Inspiring Minds
- Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island
- Olneyville Neighborhood Association
- Project 401
- Providence Promise
- Teatro ECAS
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United Way of Rhode Island is uniting our community and resources to build racial equity and opportunities for all Rhode Islanders. A member of the world’s largest nonprofit network, we bring together individuals, businesses, nonprofits, community leaders, and government to tackle the root causes of inequity and achieve specific, measurable goals. Our programs include 211, the statewide front door connecting Rhode Islanders with social services, resources, and vital programs. Both directly and through grants to nonprofits, we are investing to build economic opportunity, advance childhood learning, expand philanthropy, and drive policy and participation. To learn more, visit unitedwayri.org, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.