Women’s Fund Releases Report on the RI Progress on Gender Equity

The Women’s Fund of Rhode Island has released a new research report, titled “An Uneven Path: State Investments in Women’s Economic Self-Sufficiency 2019.”

The report and accompanying executive summary drew on state budget documents, Rhode Island’s Standard of Need report, the U.S. Census Bureau, and other publicly available information to gauge the state’s progress on gender equity.  Report and summary

 

GCRI Members Recognized by Providence Business News

As part of the 2018 Business Women Awards, Providence Business News recognized a number of leaders at GCRI member organizations.  Highlighting the event were Kathleen Malin, vice president of technology and operations at Rhode Island Foundation, honored as Outstanding Mentor; and Sandra J. Pattie, President and CEO of Bank Newport and Chair of the Board of United Way of Rhode Island, honored as Career Achiever.

In addition, Carolyn Belisle, Managing Director of Community Relations at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, was recognized as Professional Services Woman to Watch (and featured in a separate PBN article), and Jeanne Cola, Executive Director of LISC Rhode Island, was recognized as an Achievement Honoree.

Congratulations, all!  We see your tremendous impact every day and are glad to have your partnership in GCRI!

 

 

 

Blue Cross Teams Up with Gloria Gemma Foundation to Provide Breast Cancer Education

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI) is teaming with the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation to bring breast health and breast cancer education to schools, businesses, and community centers through the Foundation’s Pink Spirit Program.

BCBSRI awarded Gloria Gemma a $10,000 charitable gift to help fund the Pink Spirit Program, which will enable the Foundation to visit more sites throughout the state.

“Bringing education as important and as focused as what is found in the Pink Spirit Program is essential to raising awareness of the importance of good breast health and early detection of breast cancer. We applaud the work done each and every day by the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation and we are honored to provide our support for their vital work,” said Carolyn Belisle, BCBSRI managing director of community relations.

The program is designed to educate students (middle through post-secondary) and employees at local businesses about the risk factors, symptoms, and screening methods for good breast health and early detection of breast cancer.

 

Family Separation and Immigration Webinar and Resources

Family Separation and Immigration Webinar and Resources

Many of you are concerned with the current debate around the federal immigration policy on family separation.  Although an executive order has been released to address the components of the policy, there are still reports of separations, lack of clarity about the courts’ response to the EO, and the challenges of reuniting families.

Children, Youth and Family Funders Roundtable is hosting an “Immigration Funder Strategy Discussion” on Friday, July 13 2:30-3:30pm for funders interested in learning more about how your organization can use its expertise to enter the immigration space.  The webinar will have ideas for ways to communicate differently with peers and colleagues about the effects of immigration policy, and to better align strategies across issue areas.  This strategy discussion will be focused on supporting immigrant children and families!s, and four funders will share their strategies, including how they developed them and how they are linked with other issue areas.

Speakers:
· Denise Dell Isola, Irving Harris Foundation
· Sandra Martinez, The California Wellness Foundation
· Laura Speer, The Annie E. Casey Foundation
· Kavitha Sreeharsha, Emerson Collective
This webinar is part of the Children, Youth & Family Funders Roundtable conversation on the impact of immigration action on children and families. The Roundtable’s immigration work is done in partnership with Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, Grantmakers Income Security Taskforce, and Early Childhood Funders Collaborative to ensure we are exploring our understanding of the cross section of issues faced by immigrant children and families.  Register

Our partner in United Philanthropy Forum, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) has released a sign on statement on family separation and immigration enforcement policies, signed by 160 philanthropic organizations.   GCIR has also released a document with ideas for philanthropic responses to the family separation crisis.

Our Forum partners, Hispanics in Philanthropy and Associated Grant Makers, have gathered resources for funders who want to learn more and/or get involved.

Statements Issued:

Dave Biemsderfer, CEO of United Philanthropy Forum, released a blog piece on the family separation policy
United Way of Mass Bay, The Boston Foundation, Jewish Philanthropies and Catholic Charities released a combined joint statement
Philanthropy California released a combined statement from Northern California, Southern California and San Diego Grantmakers

Hispanics In Philanthropy Resources

Hispanics in Philanthropy have launched an Emergency Response Fund, and issued the following statement on ways funders can respond.

5 Ways You Can Stand Up for Immigrant Children & Families TODAY

Ana Marie Argilagos, president and CEO of Hispanics in Philanthropy

It was 136 years ago when the funds to build the pedestal for the Statue of Liberty ran short. New Yorkers took action. They formed fundraising committees and collected donations from people across the city, including a kindergarten class that donated $1.35. Poet Emma Lazarus wrote a sonnet, “The New Colossus,” to help raise money. Her words — “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” — have inspired America’s approach to immigration ever since.

Today, these words etched into the Statue of Liberty are at risk. This month is Immigrant Heritage Month, intended to recognize and celebrate the vast contributions of immigrants in this country which was founded by immigrants. Instead, we are witnessing the worst human rights violations in generations.

Despite President Trump’s executive order ending his administration’s policy of separating immigrant children from their parents, the government will continue to treat all immigrants as criminals and to lock families in cages along the U.S.-Mexico border. Make no mistake: this executive order does not fix the damage inflicted on children or their families. Nor does it prevent future trauma. The Trump administration’s zero-tolerance immigration policy is intended to inflict pain, fear, and suffering on children and their parents.

We are better than these xenophobic government policies. We cannot stay silent. We cannot sit by and allow thousands of children and families to suffer traumas that will last a lifetime.

We must remember the lessons learned by our predecessors. We must look back at how Americans mobilized to bring our nation’s beacon of freedom, Lady Liberty, to our shores. Her existence is a constant reminder that we were once a country unified by the immigrant experience. We were and still are proud to be a country of immigrants.

Today, we must once again mobilize to show the world that new immigrants are cared for and welcomed with open arms. You do not have to be wealthy or a government official to take action. Just like the children who donated money to help raise the Statue of Lady Liberty two centuries ago, you too can do your part to ensure we remember our shared values.

HERE ARE A FEW WAYS YOU CAN HELP TODAY:

  1. Donate to HIP’s fund to support lasting services and support for immigrant families detained at the border.
  2. Contact your elected officials and hold them accountable. Tell them you expect them to do better, and to do it NOW.
  3. Contact the U.S. Department of Justice and submit your comments about the damage the current policies are inflicting on children and families.
  4. Contact the White House to demand they put an end to this cruelty and treat our immigrants humanely and with the dignity they deserve.
  5. Elevate your voice! HIP along with many other organizations will be gathering this June 30th at Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. to protest this administration’s inhumane policy of ripping children away from their parents at the border. Join us in DC or at an event near you. Find out more at the Families Belong Together website.

Thank you, and may we all remember: We are in this together.

Associated Grant Makers Resources

http://www.agmconnect.org/grantmakers-philanthropic-advisors/resources/disaster-and-emergency-relief-resources

  • Greater Boston Immigrant Defense Fund is building Greater Boston’s capacity to protect and defend immigrant and refugee communities by increasing access to legal representation for individuals facing deportation proceedings and community education and preparedness programming
  • Cambridge Legal Defense Fund for Immigrantshas been established to help immigrants in Cambridge, Massachusetts get the legal services they need to stay, legally, in our country.
  • The ACLUis litigating this policy in California.
  • Al Otro Ladois a binational organization that works to offer legal services to deportees and migrants in Tijuana, Mexico, including deportee parents whose children remain in the U.S.
  • American Immigrant Representation Project(AIRP), which works to secure legal representation for immigrants.
  • CARA—a consortium of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, the American Immigration Council, the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association—provides legal services at family detention centers.
  • CASAin Maryland, D.C., Virginia, and Pennsylvania. They litigate, advocate, and help with representation of minors needing legal services.
  • CLINIC’s Defending Vulnerable Populationsproject offers case assistance to hundreds of smaller organizations all over the country that do direct services for migrant families and children.
  • The Florence Projectis an Arizona project offering free legal services to men, women, and unaccompanied children in immigration custody.
  • Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborativehas a guide to organizations throughout Texas that provide direct legal services to separated children. Also listed within the guide are resources for local advocates, lawyers, and volunteers.
  • Human Rights Firstis a national organization with roots in Houston that needs help from lawyers too.
  • Kids in Need of Defenseworks to ensure that kids do not appear in immigration court without representation, and to lobby for policies that advocate for children’s legal interests.
  • The Kino Border Initiativeprovides humanitarian aid to refugees and migrants on both sides of the border. They have a wish-list of supplies they can use to help migrants and families staying in the communities they serve.
  • The Legal Aid Justice Centeris a Virginia-based center providing unaccompanied minors legal services and representation.
  • The National Immigrant Justice Centerrepresents and advocates for detained adults and children facing removal, supports efforts at the border, and represents parents in the interior who have been separated from their families as a result of aggressive enforcement.
  • The Northwest Immigrant Rights Projectis doing work defending and advancing the rights of immigrants through direct legal services, systemic advocacy, and community education.
  • Pueblo Sin Fronterasis an organization that provides humanitarian aid and shelter to migrants on their way to the U.S.
  • RAICESis the largest immigration nonprofit in Texas offering free and low-cost legal services to immigrant children and families.
  • Together Risingis another Virginia-based organization that’s helping provide legal assistance for 60 migrant children who were separated from their parents and are currently detained in Arizona.
  • The Urban Justice Center’s Asylum Seeker Advocacy Projectis working to keep families together.
  • Women’s Refugee Commissionadvocates for the rights and protection of women, children, and youth fleeing violence and persecution.
  • Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rightsworks for the rights of children in immigration proceedings.

Women’s Fund Announces 2018 Grantees, Hosts Gubernatorial Candidate Forum

The Women’s Fund of Rhode Island (WFRI) announced its 2018 grants totaling $50,000 to support gender equality advocacy and female leadership development.  The six recipients are doing impressive work for women and girls in Rhode Island.  One of the grantees, Young Voices, has been providing leadership training to low-income youth of color for ten years. The organization gives kids tools, skills, and experiences that will enhance public speaking, networking, analysis, critical thinking, and leadership.

Another grantee, The Center for Women and Enterprise (CWE) has been working with female entrepreneurs in New England since 1995, preparing them for the business world. It educates, trains, supports, and certifies women starting businesses, giving them the tools necessary to getting their foot in the door. With this approach, CWE levels the playing field and opens doors for women business-owners.

A third grantee is doing significant work for refugees, work that is needed now more than ever. Aline Binyungu and Clement Shabani started Women’s Refugee Care in 2016 to provide services and support to refugees, and their work has expanded to encompass gender equality for women and girls as well. Their proposed project receiving funding from WFRI will provide counseling sessions to educate and support female refugees experiencing unplanned pregnancies.

Grant recipients were Blackstone Valley Prep (summer camp in 2019 to cultivate civic engagement and leadership for 8-11th grade girls); Center for Women and Enterprise (‘Community Classrooms: Spanish Language Entrepreneurship Training’);Planned Parenthood (RI Coalition for Reproductive Freedom);Sojourner House (programming to all 10th grade health classes in Providence Public Schools);Women’s Refugee Care (counseling, contraceptives and education); and Young Voices (#RaiseOurVoices effort to address the root causes of educational disparities).

In addition to announcing a new slate of grants, on June 13, WFRI hosted a Gubernatorial Candidates Forum at the RI Nursing Education Center.  The session was be moderated by Maureen Moakley, political science professor at University of Rhode Island, and was focused on issues facing women and families in Rhode Island.  More info

Women’s Fund of RI Offers Workshops, New Grants

Women’s Fund of RI Offers Workshops, New Grants

The Women’s Fund of Rhode Island will be offering a full slate of programs in the coming months:

  • Feminism is a Male Issue (February 28)
  • Gender Equity in the Workplace (March 28)
  • Women Leading Change Celebration (April 26)
  • What’s In A Name? Media, Language & Representation (May 24)

More information

The Women’s Fund’s 2018 Grant Cycle has also been announced, with $50.000 in grants available for nonprofit initiatives that use a “gender lens” to focus on the unique needs of women and girls in Rhode Island and provide gender specific solutions to societal problems.  More information

Women’s Fund Hosts Cocktails and Conversations with 2017 Grantees

The Women’s Fund of Rhode Island recently announced the six recipients of its 2017 grant funding, totalling $50,000:

  • Young Voices for a program which will unite girls of color and leaders in education to address disparities in achievement in Providence public schools
  • RI Coalition Against Domestic Violence to develop plans for coalition partners to collaborate more effectively in mobilizing community voices in the Move to End Violence
  • Center for Women and Enterprise, to provide entrepreneur training in Spanish for women who want to start businesses
  • Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education (ARISE) to promote resiliency in Asian adolescent girls through their Hidden Lotus Circle leadership training
  • Day One for materials related to its Be Empowerment program addressing survivors of commercial sexual exploitation of children
  • YearUp to train and place young women on Information Technology career paths

“We had 31 organizations submit proposals for a combined request of $261,000 in funding, so the process was very competitive,” said Executive Director Kelly Nevins. “Using a review team of volunteers from the community with training in gender lens giving, these organizations clearly rose to the top.”

Grant recipients will be highlighted at the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island’s upcoming Cocktails & Conversations event on Wednesday, October 25.  More information

Kelly Nevins, Executive Director of the Women’s Fund, was also featured on GoLocal LIVE to talk about the need to address unconscious bias in the workplace and WFRI’s initiatives in this area.  View

Hasbro and United Way Team Up to Fight Summer Learning Loss

GCRI Members Hasbro and United Way of Rhode Island teamed up again to support 14 summer learning programs across the state, which provide enrichment activities, service learning, and experiential education.  GCRI Board Member Diana Perdomo, from United Way joined the Rhode Show on WPRI to talk about the valuable program (Watch video), and the North Providence Kids Klub site produced their own video (watch) detailed their great summer experience.  For more information on Hasbro Summer Learning Initiative, contact Bobby Gondola at Hasbro or Joseph Morra at United Way.

CVS Launches Youth Grant Program

GCRI Member CVS Health joined with WPRI and the Pawtucket Red Sox for the third year of Community Heroes, a program that provides $55,000 in grants to Rhode Island nonprofits. Since all three organizations are committed to helping youth lead tobacco-free lives, this year’s program encouraged youth to create a Public Service Announcement video campaign on what it means for them to be the first tobacco free generation.

Ten PSAs were selected and each organization will receive a $5,000 Community Heroes grant.

In the second phase of the program, which goes until August 23, the public is invited to vote on their favorite video.  The winner will receive an additional $5,000 grant, and will be featured on the Rhode Show and at a Pawtucket Red Sox Game.  View and vote

Women’s Fund of RI Encourages Political Involvement

Women Run As They Are
On July 22, over 50 women from RI and nearby states joined GCRI Member Women’s Fund of Rhode Island (WFRI) and VoteRunLead to learn about what it takes to run for political office. Senator Gayle Goldin, Providence City Council President Sabina Matos, East Greenwich Town Council President Suzanne Cienki and Karina Holyoak Wood shared from their campaign experiences, and participants learned about the nuts and bolts of campaigning.  Fully 40% attending said they plan to run for office in the next five years, and several more plan to support other women running for office.

Another GCRI Member, Amica Insurance, helped sponsor the event.  The workshop was the first in WFRI’s “Through a Gender Lens” training series.  In September, a session will address unconscious gender bias, and a November session will focus on making workplaces more successful through gender parity.  WFRI will also be hosting a Cocktails and Conversations networking event sponsored by 10,000 Small Businesses on September 13th.  More information