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By Reza C. Clifton

(This article appeared in The Providence American Newspaper)

PROVIDENCE, RI- Last Friday, June 17, Dorcas Place Adult and Family Learning Center held its annual student recognition event and awards ceremony. Not to be mistaken for a traditional graduation, over 150 students were honored for their discipline and dedication to skills development, while another 10 were recognized for hard work that led to high school equivalency diplomas.

Dorcas Place offers multiple levels of adult education and adult English as a Second Language programs as well as a variety of work-readiness and work skills training. Explains Workplace Literacy Director, Robin Adams, “It almost doesn’t matter what literacy level they’re in; students can get some type of skills and work training.”

Yet many of Dorcas Place’s students face significant challenges at the onset of a program and through out. Citing its 2004 figures, Executive Director Brenda Dann-Messier specified: “76% of our students enter reading at 6th grade or below; 80% are unemployed or underemployed; 98% low income; and 52% are English language learners.”

Reflecting on these figures, Dann-Messier asserts “It is important for them to be motivated; they need to be encouraged and cheered…” and from her standpoint, this year’s keynote speaker did just that. Rhode Island District Court Justice William Clifton delivered the address, and, explains Dann-Messier, he really connected with the students.

“He told a lot of stories that the students could relate to. He talked about the value of education and how motivating his mother was.” He also spoke about the obstacles he had to overcome, those related to income and those related to unsupportive people. After the ceremony, a number of students approached Dann-Messier and thanked her for inviting him.”

Dorcas Place students were not the only ones recognized Friday, though. Senator Juan Pichardo and Representative Joseph Almeida received Dorcas Place’s Government Service Award. According to Dann-Messier, both have been strong advocates for expanding adult educational opportunities and services and both have been strong supporters of the organization.

Helen Drew from the Department of Health and Carolyn Parker—a consistent volunteer—received awards named after the two founders of Dorcas Place: the Mary Reilly Advocacy Award and the Deborah Thompson Sustaining Spirit Award. Surprised with an award was Dorcas Place volunteer coordinator, teacher, and work skills instructor, Joan Anthony, received honor for distinguished service.

Besides Parker, the Collis Family Foundation was also honored in the spirit of sustaining efforts, when it was presented with the Community Partner Award. According to Dann-Messier, the foundation has been providing valuable grants for about fifteen years, many in the vein of providing “sustaining support” rather then temporary-natured, startup grants. The RI Foundation was also honored with the Community Partner Award.

According to Dann-Messier, both the Collis Family Foundation and the RI Foundation have been especially helpful related to Dorcas Place’s recent expansions. The addition of Career Academies—designed for long term employment goals and acquiring skills toward certification—to the Workplace Literacy program was innovative and unique; it came together largely due to a planning grant awarded by RI Foundation. United Way and Bank of America are also helping to fund the new initiative.

The Collis Family Foundation helped contribute to Dorcas Place’s capital campaign whose first manifestation was the opening of a new four thousand square-foot wing which is housing the Career Academies. The ribbon-cutting ceremony occurred Monday, June 6.

Another person responsible for the expansions, and the final honoree at Friday’s event was Mary Chace. Outgoing chair for the board of directors at Dorcas Place, Dann-Messier spoke fondly of the Distinguished Service recipient: “We completed the Capital campaign under her leadership, which exceeded our goal of 2.1 million dollars. We also opened additional 4000 square foot to provide additional service to communities and to house the Career Academies.”

For more information on the Career Academies or other programming at Dorcas Place, call 273-8866 or visit www.dorcasplace.org

By Reza Corinne Clifton

(This article appeared in The Providence American Newspaper)

If you were to guess the origins of an art scholarship program, you would likely consider a school like the Rhode Island School of Design or an organization like AS220. Yet on Friday June 17 at 5:30 PM, the Rhode Island Young Professionals (RIYP) will host an artist award ceremony, acknowledging the donations process that will result in the awarding of twenty children with a week at art camp at the Tsetse Gallery at 101 Orange Street in Providence.

RIYP is a non-profit organization that was formed in the winter of 2002 as an outlet to unite RI’s young professionals between the ages of 21 and 40. It is an auxiliary of the Urban League of RI that provides members with exclusive networking activities, workshops, and professional development as well as developing and implementing projects essential to empowering and enriching the state’s communities.

The art scholarship is just another example of the growing list of the group’s community service initiatives, which include a clean up they organized at a Providence-area Boys and Girls Club in May.

For the scholarship program, members began collecting donations in May, following efforts that began as far back as January to collaborate with the gallery. Social committee chair, Raymond Watson, met Tsetse founder and director Therese Lavallee just prior to RIYP’s January 29 Second Annual Winter Soiree—a reception, silent art auction, dinner, and award presentation. The timing of their meeting did not allow Lavallee to offer artwork for the auction, but she did provide the organization with helpful insight that helped make the night a success, explains Watson.

Eager to speak with Lavallee again, following her useful assistance, Watson proceeded with contacting her. During that dialogue, Lavallee shared with Watson an idea she had for a scholarship program targeting inner city, economically disadvantaged youth; the goal was for them to attend a week of art classes at her gallery. At that point, though, she was engaged with another group to accomplish that goal.

Nevertheless, Watson continued talking and exchanging ideas with Lavallee, who one day voiced her dissatisfaction with the progress being made on the scholarship program. While the group with which she was working was locating students interested in enrolling, the students were all falling above the socio-economic profile for which she sought. With many members having been raised or currently living directly in different areas of Providence, Watson knew that that was a criterion RIYP could fulfill.

Besides contributing to the scholarship fund, many of those donating are also entering a raffle to win a Ventro Phantom R41 Scooter—that looks more like a motorcycle, explains Watson. Immediately following Friday’s artist award ceremony will be the raffle drawing and an art auction all of which will occur at the Tsetse Gallery beginning at 5:30.

For more details on donating to the scholarship fund, contact Raymond Watson at (401)787-0495 or by emailing RayW06@yahoo.com To obtain RIYP’s 2005 Summer Calendar of Events, contact Dwayne Keys, at (401)369-1334 or by emailing wanie99de@yahoo.com For more information about the Tsetse Gallery, call (401)453-3337 or visit www.tsetsegallery.org

By Reza C. Clifton

(This article appeared in The Providence American Newspaper)

PROVIDENCE, RI- The hustle and bustle on the Providence side of Broad Street is nothing new to former and current residents or, for that matter, to anyone who ever takes the throughway. With its travel agencies, fashion boutiques, bodegas, nightclubs, and restaurants—just to name some of its business types—foot and auto traffic are seldom unseen.

But Friday afternoon, May 27 at 5:15, a different buzz was in the air as much of the excitement was directed to 1099-B-Broad Street, where State Representative Grace Diaz held the unveiling and ribbon cutting of the District 11 Neighborhood Office. District 11 claims the neighborhoods of Elmwood, Washington Park, and West End.

In the last round of elections about seven months ago, Diaz emerged victorious as State Representative for District 11 over incumbent Leon Tejada. While both candidates were Dominican, Diaz’s triumph brought her the honor of being the first Dominican-American woman to hold a state-wide office. Prior to holding office, Diaz worked as a home daycare provider, an employee group that has recently become increasingly boisterous in politics. As a matter of fact, it was her fellow providers who served as foot soldiers during her campaign and who continue to organize around her work, a fact she considered as she said to them Friday, “Now we have an office.”

Besides opening the neighborhood office, Diaz has been hard at work sponsoring more than 100 pieces of legislation dealing with remedying education, violence, health care, employment, civil rights, and housing. With all of these community-driven initiatives, and a strong base of supporters, it is clear why Diaz defines and likely requires the office to be a “bridge between government and community.”

Addressing the audience, who throughout the course of the event outgrew and emptied out of the humid, modest-sized space, at one point Diaz clarified that the District 11 neighborhood office should be used to address any district-elected officials in office; “[it is] not the Grace Diaz headquarters,” she insisted. This did not stop guests and speakers from directing much of their applause and admiration toward her though. Speaker of the house William Murphy commended her for “doing a great job in the community” and for being “part of a team who ensured the Minority Monitoring Office would open.”

Gubernatorial contender, Sheldon Whitehouse, brought a pair of slippers to Diaz symbolic of her “Cinderella story,” and in reference to earlier remarks that day about the success she has achieved since emigrating to this country fifteen years ago with “two dresses and forty dollars.”

Other speakers stressed the importance of working together, in opening the office and in achieving goals, like Senator Harold Metts whose words included “At my church, we say ‘Many hands make our burden light,’” and State Representative and Deputy Majority Leader Joe Almeida who reflected “The magical word is unity.”

The keynote speaker of the event was Elizabeth Morancy, the first woman ever elected to represent District 11, when it used to be District 18. Morancy shared how she was elected in 1978, a time when the district was fifty percent white. She concurred, however, that at the time she was fighting for the same issues that Diaz currently addresses. She also concluded that the opening of the office was “the best thing politically that has happened in this neighborhood in many years.”

Mayor David Cicilline, City Council President John Lombardi, Representative Tom Slater, and Senator Juan Pichardo also briefly addressed the audience, before Diaz closed by expressing gratitude to those who contributed: “This office was made possible because a lot of people decided to come together to make it happen. I visited everyone who promised to give something. Everything in it was provided by constituents, the refrigerator, computer, everything, and the constituents are winning.”

The office will be open to all District 11 constituents to address any Monday and Friday evenings, 5:30-7:30, and Saturday afternoons from 12:00-2:00.