FALL NEWSLETTER 2001

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West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation has come a long way from their kitchen-table days. They formed during the 1980s as "a group of residents trying to improve the quality of life where we lived," in the words of Executive Director Sharon Conard-Wells.

They do more major construction projects these days, but the mission remains the same.

Their $4.5 million, 32-unit Stephens Apartments project, opened in August, was a stretch, but hardly out of reach for WEHDC. The agency today is a certified full-cycle lender, with dozens of projects under its belt. They buy and sell properties not for profit but for their strategic importance in creating a rising tide of prosperity and health in West Elmwood based on resident home ownership.

Credit is the key. Banks won't lend where incomes are low, credit histories are spotty and the collateral is in bad shape. For years, predatory lenders filled the gap with deceptive deals, extortionate interest and installment plans that never end.

WEHDC attacks the credit crunch from all sides. Their Homebuyers Club and one-on-one counseling help residents clean up bad credit and become smarter buyers and borrowers. As a housing developer, WEHDC increases the available stock of clean, safe properties residents can afford. And, with a $1 million contribution from Fleet Bank, the agency became a community lender. They now have $1.4 million in outstanding loans to 51 local borrowers who would not qualify for bank loans. Repayment rates on WEHDC's "character loans" are excellent.

"Stephens Apartments was the next level of what we needed in West Elmwood," says Sharon. WEHDC assembled financing from seven private and public sources to keep costs at Stephens down and the rents within the reach of residents. "It's on a major street with very high visibility. We saved a wonderful building and our community's character.

One Busy Man's Way to Give Something Back

Peter Walsh is a busy guy. He's on The Fund for Community Progress Board as well as six other boards or committees serving the Providence community and especially youngsters. In September, Peter chaired The Fund's Campaign 2001 kickoff, a roast for Al Klyberg, visionary founder of the Heritage Harbor Museum.

Peter Walsh photo: Josh Edenbaum

"And then there's my job. I love my job." Peter is a Senior Vice President at BankRI, a job he took in 1998 after a career with Citizens Bank. The new job has allowed him to settle down in one place for a change. His three-year stay in Providence is the longest he's spent at one address for a long time. And he loves the city, too.

Peter Walsh and Rose Weaver roast Heritage Harbor Museum visionary Al Klyberg (seated) photo: Josh Edenbaum

"I've got a great life," Peter says. "So I try to give things back." Not a bad way to define "philanthropy." BankRI's workplace giving campaign is one way Peter helps share the satisfaction of philanthropy with his colleagues at the Bank. BankRI runs a "side-by-side" workplace campaign, where employees can choose between The Fund for Community Progress and another charitable federation. Each federation's materials are handed out to staff at the same time and representatives from both make presentations at the same staff meetings.

The side-by-side campaign format imposes no noticeable new burdens on staff time or effort, compared with the traditional one-federation effort. "I think this year's meeting was about half an hour," says Peter. "And it gives employees more opportunities for informed choice."

Despite current economic uncertainties, BankRI plans to sustain its current level of charitable giving, including its generous support to The Fund. The Fund and its member agencies are grateful to have friends and fellow citizens like Peter Walsh and BankRI. That's why The Fund named Peter Walsh its 2001 Partner in Philanthropy. Peter and his fellow Rhode Island Partners in Philanthropy were honored at the state's National Philanthropy Day ceremony in November.

You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Eric Hirsch
photo: Jean Duffy

Cities Count
Joe Garlick, executive director of Woonsocket Neighborhood Development Corporation and chair of The Fund's Board of Directors, has been named an At-large Member of Cities Count. Cities Count is a new initiative of the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council (RIPEC) and The Rhode Island Foundation focused on strengthening urban communities through economic development.

Grant for Organizing
The George A. Wiley Center received $30,000 from The Rhode Island Foundation for fourth year support of their community organizing campaign focusing on Newport and Washington Counties.

Green Energy Co-op
The Coalition for Consumer Justice received a grant of $28,000 from The Rhode Island Foundation to create a nonprofit energy consumer cooperative. Arline Bolvin, executive director of CCJ, says People's Power & Light will sell green electricity generated by wind, solar, and other clean sources of renewable energy.

Roberta Hazen Aaronson
photo: Jean Duffy

National Lead Award
Roberta Hazen Aaronson, executive director of Childhood Lead Action Project, was recently honored for her outstanding service in the field of lead poisoning prevention. Roberta received the Lead Star Award from the National Lead-safe Housing and Indoor Environmental Health Conference.

New Deputy Director
William Flynn has joined The Fund as Deputy Director. A graduate of Colby College '96, he had been a financial analyst for Fleet/Boston and Wellington Management. William sought a career change in order "to make a difference." We're grateful that he has chosen our organization to benefit from his talents and experience.

Donate Your Old Car
Habitat for Humanity of R.I.-Greater Providence encourages you to consider donating your old car to its organization. For details about a potential tax deduction, phone 1-800-456-5517 and reference Habitat-Providence. Fund Board members and agency representatives volunteered one October Saturday to provide finishing work at Habitat's three-unit rehabilitation project at 373 Potters Avenue. Other sites under construction are the Amica House, 113 Mitchell Street; United Church of Christ triplex, 57-63 Putnam Street; and Nationwide House, 122-124 Potters Avenue.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Lao Tzu

Social action is "the rent we pay for living."

Marian Wright Edelman

Stepping out on something, hoping to land on something.

Cornell West

Giving for Change

Protesting the "gross injustice" of the recent federal tax rebates, two anonymous donors sent us a letter and a generous check. "We believe that your organization is one that helps reduce child poverty, protects the environment, is concerned with education, helps older people live with dignity and helps improve the quality of life in our community," they wrote. "An economically polarized country is not what we want for future generations," so they trust their tax rebate will help to level the playing field here in Rhode Island.

Another donor sent us her tax rebate to be distributed among agencies focused on housing, health care and community organizing. Another gave hers to acknowledge the former and present heroes of our member agencies who struggle everyday to build a more just and peaceful world.

It is an honor to have the confidence and support of individuals across the state. At our Awards Ceremony hosted by Brown University last spring, Interim President Shelia Blumstein called The Fund an inspirational organization. She said, "You have made a difference on so many fronts-fair and affordable housing, lead paint removal, consumer justice, development of safe neighborhoods, services for the elderly and disabled-and you have done so through collaborative efforts, through networking, and through bridge-building."

Interim President Blumstein said she was proud of the Brown students who have enriched their complete Brown experience by interning with The Fund. Lilian Tse, a junior, is interning with us this semester following a summer in Washington, D.C., with our professional association, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). Lilian and a few of her peers have devised a pilot course on the topic of philanthropy. We look forward to learning from their "giving circle" experiment.

Fund Members Help Reduce Providence Child Lead Levels by Two-thirds

Mayor Vincent A. Cianci of Providence singled out two Fund member agencies for their contributions to significant reductions in the rate of lead contamination among the city's children. The city announced on October 23 that the number of Providence children with dangerous levels of lead in their blood is now just one third of what it was in the early 1990s.

The Mayor cited Childhood Lead Action Project and Greater Elmwood Neighborhood Services in his statement. The Childhood Lead Action Project educates parents, human service professionals and property owners on the dangers and sources of lead and ways to reduce or remove lead hazards.

GENS operates a revolving fund to help property owners carry out lead hazard reductions. Their training program for lead abatement workers has resulted in the creation of several dozen jobs and contractor businesses in the Greater Elmwood area of Providence's South Side. Another Fund agency, West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation, carries out similar programs in another South Side neighborhood.

Fund member agencies Habitat for Humanity and Stop Wasting Abandoned Property are two more major forces in the rehabilitation and replacement of Providence's neglected and abandoned buildings with lead-free houses and rental apartments. A sixth Fund member, The Housing Network of R.I., helped advocate for and plan the city's anti-lead campaign, and also plays an important role in the statewide effort to end lead poisoning.

An unseen poisoner
Right now, Providence children are being poisoned by lead introduced into their homes and yards over many years. Accumulated lead from paint and gasoline produced before 1978 permeates the walls, woodwork and soil around homes across the city.

Even low lead levels have now been linked to lower IQ, failure in school and delinquency and corresponding higher costs for education and child care. Serious lead poisoning can cause profound brain damage, kidney damage and coma.

Today, 16 out of every 100 Providence children have elevated lead levels, as compared to 40 out of 100 in 1990.

Despite the enormous achievement of Providence's neighborhood and housing organizations, the hazard to children in Providence remains almost four times higher than the average U.S. rate of about 4.5%. The Fund's member agencies will continue to play a critical role until our community eliminates this pernicious hazard to our children for good.

Here at Home: Heroes Needed

In the aftermath of September 11, a wave of new charitable giving swept our nation. In a space of weeks, billions of dollars were collected for the victims of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, more money than most of the nation's largest charities collect in an ordinary year. The spontaneous generosity of a free people was among the most effective replies we could make.

Our grief now gives way to the daily concerns and responsibilities that will not be denied: home, family, career-and community. We find that while our attention was focused on that horrible burning space in the heart of New York City, our usual obligations piled up. Among them, supporting the community organizations in Rhode Island that help our most vulnerable neighbors. We'll need to make an extra effort to catch up.

The Fund for Community Progress pledges to make that extra effort-and we urge you to join us. Be a hero here at home. Whatever Rhode Island charities you support, please add a few dollars to your usual gift. Add one more Rhode Island charity to those you support this year. And, if you want to reach grassroots community organizations, you can direct your contribution to us: The Fund for Community Progress. We will share your generosity among our 24 member agencies.

PROGRESS is published to inform friends of The Fund for Community Progress about the activities and concerns of its member agencies. Gifts to The Fund have a definite impact on solving problems of poverty, hunger, homelessness, mental illness, housing, discrimination and other issues of injustice. PROGRESS stresses the importance of your continued support as together we "build a better community."