Spring Newsletter 2019

ART CONNECTION HIGHLIGHTS

AC-RI Celebrates 8 years of Connecting Lives with Art.

We had a blast celebrating our 8th Anniversary at the annual Connecting Lives with Art Fundraiser at Slater Mill on April 3rd. Thank you to those who came out to support what we do, we couldn't do it without you!

At the event, AC-RI recognized nonprofit arts collaborative, Artists’ Exchange, with the 2019 Iona Dobbins Award for their outstanding achievements in Art in Rhode Island. Pictured right, AC-RI Board Chair, Jim Scott, presents the award to Artists’ Exchange Director Elaine McKenna-Yeaw, alongside Iona’s daughters and long-time AC-RI supporters, Debbie Dobbins and Catherine Dobbins Ryan.

We also recognized Sarah & Abbott “Tom” Gleason with the 2019 Donor Artist Award for generous art donations to our placement program. Sarah (left) gave a moving presentation about her late husband and his love for art and battle with Parkinson’s Disease. Since 2016, AC-RI has been honored to receive nearly two dozen of Tom’s artworks.

The event also featured Master of Ceremonies, Alison Bologna, and a live art auction, led by auctioneer Brett Davey and spotlighting beautiful artwork from four artists of Flying Shuttles Studio.

All in all, it was a fun-filled night and we feel humbled and honored to be supported by so many generous folks who believe in the power of art and in our mission to inspire under-served populations by providing community service organizations access to original works of art!

Leon Mathieu Senior Center

What a great time we had with the folks at Leon Mathieu Senior Center (LMSC) back in September. After much friendly debate, their members and staff selected 11 original artworks for their facility!

LMSC’s mission is to identify Pawtucket’s older adults and provide them with a safe, supportive, and nurturing environment where they can access information about resources, programs, and services available on the local, state and federal levels.

Project Weber/RENEW

It was just after Christmas when we connected with the staff at Project Weber/RENEW. They selected 14 original artworks, just in time for their open house celebrating the merger and new facility in Providence. Project Weber/RENEW is the merged organization of two programs providing a full range of harm reduction, recovery, and basic needs services to men and women, including the transgender community.

Robert J. Malley

Bob comes to us through Empower Success Corps, which provides a range of consulting services to non-profit organizations in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

He has served as a trustee of the Memorial and Library Association of Westerly for 13 years where he currently serves as chair of the Board of Trustees' Development Committee. After a 32-year career as a corporate and banking lawyer in New York City and Boston, Bob changed careers to work for Colgate University on its development staff, responsible for soliciting major gifts and planned gifts from prospects in the New England states, New York City and the Baltimore/ Washington.