Last May, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President and CEO Eric Rosengren and Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo announced that Cranston, Newport, and Providence won the Fed’s Working Cities Challenge, a competition for Rhode Island communities to improve the lives of low- and moderate-income residents.
The three cities each received multiyear grants of $400,000 to support programs designed to spur workforce development and job creation among low- and moderate-income residents. Newport is using the $400,000 three-year grant to develop and implement a plan to improve the lives of low-income Newport residents by decreasing poverty rates by 20% over the next decade.
Kate Cantwell, Strategic Initiative Director for Working Cities Newport, and Joe Pratt, Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Newport County joined me to chat about Working Cities Newport, the Working Cities New Year Celebration that is scheduled to take place on January 20th at the Florence Gray Center, and more.