Four Portsmouth Students Win RI Foundation Scholarships

Four Portsmouth residents are among dozens of students statewide who will share nearly $500,000 in scholarships from the Rhode Island Foundation. Receiving Miss Swinburne Scholarships were Katherine Barry, who will attend Brown University; Leah Torres, who will attend California Polytechnic State University; and Ashley Cotta and Kristen Kemper, who will attend the University of Rhode Island.

Swinburne is one of dozens of funds established by individual and organizational donors at the Foundation to help students defray educational expenses such as tuition, fees and books. The fund memorializes Elizabeth H. Swinburne, a civic-minded woman of the early 1900s who established a school in her Newport home to educate young women. Following her death, the Civic League of Newport continued her mission and, 10 years ago, established the fund in her name. The Miss Swinburne Fund has provided nearly $600,000 in scholarships and grants to benefit young women from Newport County since 2002.

“These scholarships honor not just the recipients, but the donors who make their dream of a better future come true,” said Neil Steinberg, the Foundation’s president and CEO. “The benefits of their generosity will pay dividends for decades as these young people enter the workforce and the civic life of their communities.”

In addition to general scholarship assistance, some funds target specific geographic areas or provide assistance based on gender, economic status or special circumstance.

The Melvin and Patty Alperin First Generation Scholarship is earmarked for high school seniors who are accepted or enrolled in an accredited two- or four-year college whose parents did not graduate from college.

The Rhode Island Commission on Women/Freda Goldman Education Award is for women pursuing education or job training beyond high school who need assistance with transportation, child care, educational materials or other support services.

The Foundation also offers a number of awards targeting students studying everything from social work or the arts to textile technology or filmmaking.

The Albert and Florence Newton, Edward and Virginia Routhier and Willard and Marjorie Scheibe scholarship funds target students studying nursing.

A complete list of scholarships, application deadlines and eligibility requirements for the 2016-17 school year 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 2014, the Foundation awarded more than $34.8 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.

PHOTO CAPTION: James D’Ambra of the R.I. Association of Former Legislators presents college scholarships to Olivia SaoBento of Warren (far right) and three other recipients.