Twenty-Six Business, Religious, Political, Sports and Community Leaders Join 175th Anniversary Honorary Committee at Children’s Friend

Amica, Citizens Bank, GLAD WORKS, Panera Bread/Howley Bread Group and
r.j. LaChance Advertising, LLC Partner With Children’s Friend
During Agency’s Historic 175th Anniversary Year

PROVIDENCE, RI – In 2009, Children’s Friend is celebrating 175 years of effectively serving the needs of vulnerable children in Rhode Island. The oldest child welfare organization in Rhode Island, Children’s Friend, founded in 1834, also holds a unique place in history as the first organization to serve the most vulnerable children in the state.
 
Twenty-six men and women, leaders in their respective fields of business, religion, politics, law, sports, child advocacy, and the nonprofit sector have joined Children’s Friend as members of the agency’s 175th Anniversary Honorary Committee to celebrate these milestones:

The Honorable Scott Avedisian, Mayor of the City of Warwick
Nick, Ron & Pete Cardi, Cardi’s Furniture
Stephanie D. Chafee, Founder, Rhode Island Free Clinic
Lisa G. Churchville, President and General Manager, NBC 10 WJAR
The Honorable David N. Cicilline, Mayor of the City of Providence
Robert A. DiMuccio, Chairman, President and CEO, Amica Mutual Insurance Company
Thomas F. Gilbane, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer, Gilbane Inc.
Rabbi Leslie Y. Gutterman, Senior Rabbi, Temple Beth-El
Juana Horton, President and Chief Executive Officer, Horton Interpreting Services Inc.
The Honorable Patrick J. Kennedy, United States Representative
The Honorable James R. Langevin, United States Representative
Anthony Maione, President and Chief Executive Officer, United Way of Rhode Island
Joseph J. MarcAurele, President, Citizens Bank, Rhode Island
Patricia Martinez, Director, Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families
Bernard G. Mondor, Owner, Pawtucket Red Sox
The Honorable John A. Mutter, Associate Justice, Rhode Island Family Court
John J. Partridge, Esq., Senior Counsel, Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP
James E. Purcell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island
The Honorable Jack Reed, United States Senator
Pablo Rodriguez, M.D., Chief Executive Officer, Women’s Care, Inc.
Merrill W. Sherman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bank Rhode Island
John C. Warren, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Washington Trust Company
The Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse, United States Senator
The Right Reverend Geralyn Wolf, XII Bishop, The Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island

“Children’s Friend is pleased and honored that so many of Rhode Island’s important leaders have agreed to help us celebrate our 175th anniversary year,” said David Caprio, Executive Director of Children’s Friend. “We thank them for their support and their belief in our mission to promote the well-being and healthy development of Rhode Island’s most vulnerable children," Caprio said.

Children’s Friend Announces 175th Honorary Committee and Anniversary Year Partners

In addition, five Rhode Island companies have joined Children’s Friend as Anniversary Year Partners, pledging significant support to help honor, celebrate and share the agency’s rich history, highlight its work, and help it to move forward in serving Rhode Island’s most vulnerable children and families:

Amica Mutual Insurance Company (Lincoln)
Citizens Bank (Providence)
GLAD WORKS (Pawtucket)
Panera Bread/Howley Bread Group (Cumberland)
r.j. LaChance Advertising, LLC (Barrington)
  
“These companies have a powerful commitment to meeting the needs of children,” said Caprio. “Their dedication will help us to achieve important anniversary objectives -- generating awareness of the positive impact Children’s Friend has on the lives of those it serves and expanding our services to meet the growing needs of our most vulnerable children,” said Caprio.

Funds raised throughout Children's Friend's 175th anniversary year will help fund a newly established therapeutic child care center at its Family Support Center in Central Falls. This much-needed program means that children who would otherwise be unable to access child care due to complex and problematic needs will now receive it. Without such care, parents often cannot work a full schedule to help support their family. This program, which is eligible for third-party support, will eventually become self-sustaining.

Many events are planned throughout the anniversary year.

On Friday, June 12, 2009 at the Providence Biltmore, the agency will premier a documentary examining the history of child welfare in Rhode Island and the important role Children's Friend has played in that history. Entitled “A Rich Blessing to the Community,” the documentary will explore how child welfare has changed in Rhode Island since the founding of Children's Friend and how the state and the agency have responded to these events in caring for its children.

In conjunction with Sandra Enos, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology at Bryant University, Children’s Friend is also developing a five-part lecture series on the changing landscape of child welfare in Rhode Island as well as a traveling photo and archive exhibit. Both the lecture series and the traveling exhibit are supported by grants from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities and Philanthropist Herman Rose's ADDD Fund at the Rhode Island Foundation. They are also sponsored in part by Gilbane Building Company.

For more information on these or other 2009 anniversary events, contact Bryan W. Ferguson, Director of Development and Communications, at 401-276-4323 or bferguson@cfsri.org.

A non-profit organization founded in 1834, Children's Friend is Rhode Island's oldest child welfare organization and a leading provider of child welfare, family support, mental health, and youth development services. With Family Support Centers in Providence and Central Falls, and the CHILDSPAN program in Pawtucket, Children's Friend served more than 17,500 of Rhode Island's most vulnerable children and their families in 2008. The agency's programs range from Adoption, Foster Care, Birth Parent Counseling, Child Care, and Adoption Support and Preservation to Dads Making A Difference, Early Head Start, Early Intervention, Family Counseling and Project Connect. In 2009, Children's Friend celebrates its 175th anniversary with events and programs designed to honor its heritage, highlight its work, and build upon past accomplishments. For more information, log on to www.175yearsofsmiles.org.