RICJ
Dear Neighbors and Friends,
Rhode Island for Community & Justice extends warm holiday wishes to you and yours.
Our partners, supporters and community members helped us have an awesome 2022. On Dec 7th, we enjoyed a festive holiday fundraiser at the RI State House with musical performances, moving speeches, great food & a raffle.
Keeping with our theme “Building Connections & Changing Lives“ we heard from Alumni how RICJ changed their lives and from Donors about why they support RICJ programs. We celebrated the hard work of our alumni and current youth. Generous donors and supporters have made this work possible for the past 69 years!
Highlights included a lively performance from The Extraordinary Rendition Band, stories from RICJ alumni Chelcie Speaks, Jim Albert, and Lt. Col. Dean Korsak, an address from our President David Winoker and from Executive Director Dr. Toby Ayers. Shameem Awan of Amica and Angie Ankoma of the Rhode Island Foundation had kind words, and Youth Action Council officers Rafael, Annabelle, Alivia and Destiny helped our co-emcees Rose Albert and Ayo Aina close out the evening.
We were moved when Dean (who as a teen only came to camp because he needed food and a bed) held up his camp book from 1996, saying he always keeps it near because what he learned at camp shaped his life. Today Dean has a beautiful family and is a lawyer and Lt. Col in the Air Force!
We send a special thank you to all the companies who are so generous, including Amica, Belvoir Properties & the Winokers, Amgen Foundation, Rhode Island Foundation, Buff Chace and Cornish Associates, Dexter Donation Fund, Edwin Soforenko Foundation, Beacon Mutual, RI Realtor Foundation, Delta Dental RI, Brad Dimeo & Dimeo Construction Company, Neighborhood Health Plan, and Shameem Awan, Dean Korsak, Sam Palmisano, Michael Evora and Rep. Edie Ajello.
We thank Chef John Scott of the RI Training School & Beehive, and Alumni Victor Martelle who donated delicious food. We were able to raise over $30,000, plus new youth program grants!
In addition to our gratitude, we leave you with:
Tribute Video– enjoy fun testimonials!
Alumni Stories– 3 of our hundreds of alumni!
Next week, watch for our Youth Programs Newsletter. In 2023, we’ll send our Juvenile Hearing Board Newsletter. And always we send our thanks, best wishes and love.
Have a happy holiday season, we’ll see you in 2023!
Sincerely,
The Staff, Board and Youth of RICJ