Scholarships Offered & Some for East Providence, Cranston & Newport County Residents

By The Rhode Island Foundation

PROVIDENCE, RI — At the time of year that colleges are sending out financial aid packages, the Rhode Island Foundation is offering students and their families more than $1.8 million in scholarships. Dozens of individual, family and organizational donors established scholarship funds at the Foundation to help students defray educational expenses such as tuition, room and board, fees and books.

“Each one of these scholarships turns dreams into reality for our donors and our recipients,” said Neil Steinberg, the Foundation’s president and CEO. “The impact of their generosity will ripple through community for generations as students begin to make their marks.”

The Foundation expects to help hundreds of students with financial aid. In addition to general scholarship assistance available statewide, some funds target specific geographic areas such as Cranston, East Providence and Newport County.

Ralph C. and Joyce L. Vossler Fund, Ralph C. and Joyce L. Vossler Fund and Brian Moretti Scholarship Fund are for Cranston High School West graduates, while the Holly Charette Scholarship and Agnes Meade Tramonti Memorial Scholarship go to Cranston High School East students. The Maria E. Pinheiro Memorial Scholarship, Amaral Family Scholarship Fund and Harriet M. Briggs Memorial Scholarship are among the awards available to East Providence High School graduates.

“Nursing is my passion and I am so fortunate that this scholarship will help me financially as I go into my las tyear of nursing school and become that much closer to my goal of being a registered nurse,” said East Providence resident Mary Monagle, a senior nursing major at Villanova University.

The John Raymond Parker Jr. Memorial Fund, Charles E. and Agnes J. McCarthy Memorial Fund, Victoria Johnson Fund and Harold B. Werner Fund target Rogers High School graduates while the Miss Swinburne Fund targets students from all six Newport County communities.

“My scholarship makes a huge difference for me and my family. It allows me to continue to work toward my dream of becoming a doctor,” said Portsmouth resident Katherine Barry, a sophomore studying Neuroscience and Applied Mathematics at Brown University, who received assistance from the Miss Swinburne Fund.

Other funds provide assistance based on area of study, family income or special circumstance. The Willard and Marjorie Scheibe Fundtargets nursing majors while the Melvin and Patty Alperin First Generation Scholarship is earmarked for high school seniors whose parents did not graduate from college.

“I am so grateful to have found a career that embodies my desire to help others and make a difference in their lives. I took forward to integrating my passion for assisting other into a career in nursing,” said Newport resident Gabrielle Hermes, a senior nursing major at the University of Rhode Island.

The first deadlines to apply do not begin rolling in until April. A complete list of scholarships, application deadlines and eligibility requirements is posted on the Foundation’s website at www.rifoundation.org.

The Rhode Island Foundation is the largest and most comprehensive funder of nonprofit organizations in Rhode Island. In 2016, the Foundation awarded a record $45 million in grants to organizations addressing the state's most pressing issues and needs of diverse communities. Through leadership, fundraising and grantmaking activities, often in partnership with individuals and organizations, the Foundation is helping Rhode Island reach its true potential. For more information, visit www.ri.foundation.org.

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