💚 #MUSEOFRI - End of Year Recap '22!
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💚 #MUSEOFRI - End of Year Recap '22!
The MUSEFoundation of Rhode Island review of the year 2022!
Thank You! 2022
Let’s start this off with a thank you to 2022. The MUSE Foundation of Rhode Island is near ending it’s 2nd year after being established in 2021. First foundation created by people of color for people of color.
This year we worked on advocating and establishing Rhode Island Black Philanthropy Month in strategic partnership with Lt. Governor Matos & United Way of Rhode Island. Governor McKee official signed the proclamation to make every August Black Philanthropy Month here in Rhode Island. The first New England state to do so.
Thank Venture Cafe for hosting us at District Hall & CIC Providence for being the headquarters for The MUSE Foundation of Rhode Island & Youth Empowerment Society of Providence County (YESpvd!)
Please join us in August 2023.
Back in the Spring of 2022 we resumed our event calendar and produced and hosted our youth initiative Youth Empowerment Society of Providence County (#YESpvd❗️) fundraiser event series OutSpokenPVD! and ARE&BE Showcase as part of our social enterprise products SpokenWord Brand and Emcee Brand (Coming 2023). We utilized these bi-monthly events to highlight local talent and to create brand awareness for #MUSEOFRI. Funds raised helped produce the events, donate to various causes and helped us reboot #TURNUPRI RI’s #1 Youth Summit this past Fall with supporting agencies like The Papitto Foundation , COX Communications, PCF Development Corp Mayor Rivera, City of Central Fall & others.
This Fall we had the honor of producing the official naming ceremony for the Michael S. Van leesten Memorial Bridge. This was a special moment for our founder, Juan Wilson Jr. as Mr. Van Leesten is one fo the pivotal people responsible for his venture into community. Mr. Van Leesten served as a mentor and inspiration for Juan.
To close out the year, we hosted our annual BEST IN BLACK 22nd Annual Toy Drive Benefit + Fundraiser on Saturday, December 10th first time event at ACRUZ Gallery + Events. Each year the toy drive is held in place of Juan’s birthday celebration. We collected over 500+ toys and delivered them to Community Action Partnership of Providence County. We also produced during the event the first annual #MUSEOFRI Awards that included the following honorees: Anjel Newman, Angie Ankoma, Dewayne “Boo” Hackney, Kobi Dennis, Melissa Husband, Rosie Fernandez and Susan Pires.
Special Thanks to: NO Worrying Events, Elite Systems, PIN’s Kychen, ACRUZ Gallery+Events, Rich Norris Enterprises, Hall Of Grafx, Chip Douglas, Blaq Sav, NYCEHITZ, Copa Menswear, CIC Providence and JJUANtheBRAND™.
FYI, Check out the photo gallery below:
+ more photos by Zoo Media here | Justin Case Media here | Hot In RI 360 Vids here.
Next up we have our last celebration of the year this Tuesday 12.20 #YESPVDHOLIDAZ as a thank you. Details x Tickets here
Thank you again for all the support these last two years. Let’s continue to build in 2023!
#MUSEOFRI
P.S. Stay tuned for 2023 YESpvd! Pay It Forward Scholarships application (Quarterly) opening in January.
Join The MUSE Foundation of RI chat
A private space for us to converse and connect
Today I’m announcing a brand new addition to my Substack publication: the #MUSEofRI Digest subscriber chat.
This is a conversation space in the Substack app that I set up exclusively for my subscribers — kind of like a group chat or live hangout. I’ll post short prompts, thoughts, and updates that come my way, and you can jump into the discussion.
To join our chat, you’ll need to download the Substack app, now available for both iOS and Android. Chats are sent via the app, not email, so turn on push notifications so you don’t miss conversation as it happens.
How to get started
Download the app by clicking this link or the button below. Substack Chat is now available on both iOS and Android.
Open the app and tap the Chat icon. It looks like two bubbles in the bottom bar, and you’ll see a row for my chat inside.
That’s it! Jump into my thread to say hi, and if you have any issues, check out Substack’s FAQ.