RI Foundation supports Portsmouth students and area nonprofits

13sep30_rif.pngProvidence, RI – Three Portsmouth residents are among the Newport County students and nonprofit organizations that received $52,000 in grants from the Rhode Island Foundation through the Miss Swinburne Fund.

Victoria Oman attends Bristol Community College and Kayla M. Kemper and Meredith D. FitzGerald attend the University of Rhode Island.

The fund memorializes Elizabeth H. Swinburne, a civic-minded woman of the early 1900s who established a school in her Newport home to educate young women. Following her death, the Civic League of Newport continued her mission and, 10 years ago, established the fund in her name. The Miss Swinburne Fund has provided nearly $600,000 in scholarships and grants to benefit young women from Newport County since 2002.

The other scholarship recipients are Camille I. Bobiak of Middletown, Jessica White, Kaori G. Oneil, Brittany N. Howellel and Alexandra R. Brown of Newport, Alexandra D. Corr of Tiverton and Caitlin L. Schnack of Jamestown.

In addition, the following nonprofit organizations received grants.

  • Star Kids Scholarship Program
    A grant of $3,500 for the tuition expenses for one Newport County Star Kid female student to attend a non-public school for the 2013-14 school year.

  • Boys & Girls Club of Newport County
    A grant of $2,000 to expand the American Girl Club program for the 2013-2014 school year. This grant is earmarked for CPR and babysitting expenses.

  • Girl Scouts of Rhode Island
    An award of $2,000 will be used to support Newport's Urban Outreach program benefitting at-risk girls grades K-12 who might otherwise not have the opportunity to participate in Girl Scouts through after-school and summer community programming.

  • Women's Resource Center
    A $2,000 grant to support the Court Advocacy Program in Newport County to educate and empower victims of domestic violence, validate their concerns, represent their wishes, and promote their access to services.

  • Child and Family Services of Newport County
    The $2,000 grant will support the Groovy Girls Program to involve girls in activities to improve self-esteem, provide emotional support, and inspire confidence.

  • East Bay Community Action Program
    A $2,000 grant to use toward the cost of staffing and materials for Even Start's Children's Room.

  • Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center
    A $2,000 grant for the Strong Woman Series to provide information, support and empowerment to the women of Newport County on matters of health, finances, education, art and seeking employment.

  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ocean State
    A grant of $1,500 to support mentoring services for 30 at-risk girls living in Newport County. This grant is earmarked to purchase educational materials as listed in your itemized budget.

  • Social Enterprise Greenhouse
    A $1,500 grant for the SVPRI-Newport Program will be used to recruit women and girls to participate in programs to develop the skills to start and maintain their own social enterprise and micro enterprise businesses.

  • Newport Community School
    The $2,500 grant will support a vocational training program for Certified Nursing Assistants.

    The Miss Swinburne Fund will seek applications from Newport County nonprofit organizations and students again in the spring of 2014. A full list of scholarships offered by the Rhode Island Foundation is available at www.rifoundation.org/scholarships.

    The Rhode Island Foundation is the largest and most comprehensive funder of nonprofit organizations in Rhode Island. In 2012, the Foundation made grants of more than $30.4 million to organizations addressing Rhode Island’s most pressing issues and needs of diverse communities. Through leadership, fundraising and grant making activities, often in partnership with individuals and organizations, the Foundation is helping our state reach its true potential. For more information, visit www.rifoundation.org.

    Editorial note: Written from a press release.