Riverzedge takes 3rd place in annual pitch competition

PAWTUCKET – Riverzedge Arts received third place and a $15,000 prize at the pitch competition for nonprofit organizations hosted by Social Enterprise Greenhouse and United Way at The Guild Wednesday evening.

The first-place finisher, receiving $50,000, was Rhode Island Black Storytellers, a statewide organization based in Providence that sends trained storytellers to schools and other community locations to share stories of Black leaders, culture, folktales and legends. The second-place finisher, Beat the Street New England, is a youth development program centered around the sport of wrestling.

The pitches were judged by Paola Fernandez, vice president of community development at Centreville Bank; Eileen Hayes, president and CEO of Amos House; and former Congressman James Langevin.

There was also a public vote with a $5,000 prize, which went to Gnome Surf Therapy, an organization based in Tiverton that offers surf lessons

and other services to children of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.

Langevin told The Call it was “near impossible” to decide on the winners.

“It was really hard because all of these projects were unique and special in their own ways,” he said.

Of the roughly 30 applicants this year, 10 organizations were named as Nonprofit Innovation Lab fellows and given six months of training with staff from the Social Enterprise Greenhouse to refine their idea and hone their pitch.

Riverzedge Arts’s award-winning idea was described by Executive Director Kristen Williams as both a new and old program. The Woonsocket-based organization is looking to expand its flagship Arts Education and Training program, which pays high schoolers to work alongside professional artists on commissioned projects for commercial clients, to “adjudicated youth” who have been through the criminal justice system.

“We think youth belong in an art studio way more than they belong in a cell,” Williams said in her presentation. “According to juvenile justice experts, we have the right idea.”

Specifically, Riverzedge is looking to add a studio session from 6:00-9:00 p.m. four times per week for adjudicated youth, alongside its current after school program that runs 3:00-6:00 three times per week, said Brad Fesmire, artistic director. He said there’s potential to mix in other high schoolers looking for a nighttime job, and that there would also be a behavioral specialist from the Department of Children and Families available during those sessions.

During her pitch, Williams gave an estimated program cost of $100,000, of which Riverzedge has already raised half. She promised that she would work to sustain the program, likely by continuing to search and apply for grants.

“We don’t do one-and-dones,” she told the judges. “The kids that we’re serving have been disappointed enough.”

Williams told The Call the idea originally came from discussions about increased violence in Woonsocket she had with other members of the Woonsocket Health Equity Zone as a representative of Riverzedge. It was through those conversations and further discussion with the state’s Department of Children, Youth and Families and parole officers that she began working out how to tweak the program to meet the needs of its target population.

Throughout the process of working with the Social Enterprise Greenhouse, she also collaborated with the rest of the Riverzedge staff and solicited feedback from the 40 high schoolers currently in the after school program.

“It’s hard to get information out of them,” she said of the students, but eventually she learned that they felt “there’s nothing to do in Woonsocket and they don’t have money and they’re not proud of their city.”

“Kids need stuff to do that they’re interested in that keeps them off the streets,” she said.

That was a concept echoed by second-place winner Beat the Streets New England, which uses wrestling and trauma-informed coaching to help at-risk youth by providing mentorship, support and an after-school outlet and community. The organization’s idea, presented by CEO Bior Guigni, was to create a wellness app that allows program leaders to “engage with student-athletes in real time.” It will include a self check-in assessment and allow alumni of the program to stay connected to current members and staff.

The winning idea for Rhode Island Black Storytellers was to create a Black Storytelling Academy where the organization can train more storytellers to broaden their reach across the state. Executive Director Valerie Tutson told the panel it’s only been about 10 storytellers “carrying this work for the last 25 years,” and they can’t keep up with all the requests for performances. They plan to use the award money for a pilot training program of 10 people.

“We want to help you find your way to pass these stories on,” Tutson said.

She, fittingly, ended her presentation with a story, an anecdote about a mother lion and her cub who come upon a group of hunters telling stories around a campfire about hunting lions and other large game. The cub asks its mother why the hunters are telling those stories, to which the mother replies that those are the stories they will tell until the lions start telling their own stories.

“Investing in this program will empower lions to tell stories,” Tutson said.

Her pitch was well-received by both the attendees and the judges, with Langevin commending Tutson on a “fantastic job.” He also noted that awarding the grant on the first day of Black History Month was extra special, but “coincidental to the outcome.”

Referring to both Riverzedge and RI Black Storytellers, Langevin said it was exciting to fund programs supporting the arts.

“Art is a gift, and not everyone has the gift, and when we can recognize a program that can foster these God-given talents, that’s a gift,” he said.