The Rhode Island Blood Center is urging Rhode Islanders to donate blood ahead of Memorial Day weekend as hospitals brace for the start of “trauma season,” a period marked by increased accidents, emergency surgeries and higher demand for lifesaving blood transfusions. Rhode Island is currently experiencing a critical need for Type O blood donations following […]
Nonprofit
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BankNewport Charitable Foundation awards more than $470,000 in spring 2026 grants to nearly 50 Rhode Island nonprofits
The BankNewport Charitable Foundation has awarded more than $470,000 in spring 2026 grants to nearly 50 nonprofit organizations across Rhode Island, the foundation announced this week. The funding supports programs focused on arts and culture, basic needs, education success and healthy lives. “BankNewport is proud to support organizations that are making a meaningful difference in […]
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Newport Mental Health unveils 2026 lineup of signature fundraising events
Newport Mental Health has announced its 2026 schedule of signature fundraising events, three gatherings the nonprofit says will help underwrite no-cost mental health and substance use care across Newport County. Proceeds from the events benefit Newport Mental Health’s Annual Fund, which last year helped provide $1.2 million in no-cost care to children, families and individuals […]
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Newport Hospital awards $185,000 to 26 youth programs through Prince Memorial Fund
Newport Hospital has awarded $185,000 to 26 local organizations through its Frederick Henry Prince Memorial Fund, continuing its commitment to youth wellness across Aquidneck Island. The “Powered by Prince” grants, ranging from $2,500 to $15,000, will help support and expand a broad mix of programs serving children and teens in Newport County, from athletics and […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Arts & Cultural Alliance opens nominations for LeRoy White Soul & Conscience Award
The Arts & Cultural Alliance of Newport County and the White Family Foundation are accepting nominations for the fourth annual LeRoy White Soul & Conscience Award, a $5,000 prize given each year to a musician whose life or art contributes to and connects the community. Musicians may apply on their own behalf or be nominated […]
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Newport community gives back to longtime advocates with new roof for Jimmy and Barbara Winters
Jimmy and Barbara Winters, founders of the Newport Housing Hotline, are being recognized for more than 45 years of helping others with a brand-new roof for their Newport home, courtesy of a community partnership that came together on Thursday. Middletown-based A1 Roofing & Construction led the project alongside the Newport County Board of Realtors Charities […]
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Norman Bird Sanctuary launches free field trips for 7th graders
The Norman Bird Sanctuary is rolling out a new program that will bring 7th-grade students onto its 300-acre campus for free, blending field science, exercise and mental wellness into a single morning outdoors. The initiative, called “Ecosystem Explorers,” is funded by a grant from the Frederick Henry Prince Memorial Fund at Newport Hospital. The sanctuary […]
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Rough Point earns Level 1 arboretum accreditation
Rough Point has achieved Level 1 arboretum accreditation through ArbNet, the Newport Restoration Foundation announced Thursday. The designation recognizes the approximately 11-acre landscape on Newport’s rugged Atlantic Coast, which preserves the legacies of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and philanthropist, preservationist and conservationist Doris Duke. ArbNet unites arboreta, botanic gardens with woody plant collections and […]
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AARP Rhode Island to host free document shredding event in Newport on April 24
Newport County residents can safely dispose of sensitive personal documents at a free shredding event hosted by AARP Rhode Island on Friday, April 24, from 9 a.m. to noon at Edward King House Senior Center, 35 King St. The drive-thru drop-off event is part of AARP Rhode Island’s “Fraud Fighting Fridays” initiative, which aims to […]
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Applications open for BlueTIDE 2026 maritime tech demonstration in Newport
Applications are now open for the BlueTIDE 2026 Collaborative Integration Opportunity, a centerpiece of the annual maritime technology demonstration event returning to Newport this summer, Polaris Tech Bridge announced Wednesday. BlueTIDE, hosted by the nonprofit formerly known as 401 Tech Bridge, is designed to accelerate the development and deployment of maritime and dual-use technologies by […]
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Newport Historical Society to host Revolutionary-era concert at Colony House
Newport’s yearlong commemoration of the 250th anniversary of American independence continues next week with a live concert of music from the Revolutionary era at one of the city’s most historic buildings. The Newport Historical Society will host music historians David and Ginger Hildebrand on Friday, May 1, at 6 p.m. at The Colony House, the […]
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Salve Regina launches loan-repayment program that lands nursing students jobs before graduation
Salve Regina University is trying to chip away at two of health care’s most persistent problems at once — rising education costs for nursing students and a shortage of clinical workers across Rhode Island — through a new partnership that lines up jobs and loan repayment before students ever leave campus. Since launching the Scholars […]
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Federal filings: Newport Performing Arts Center lost money three of the last five years
In three of the last federal tax filings, the Newport Performing Arts Center (NPAC) reported net income losses while it continues to try and raise millions of dollars to renovate and reopen the former majestic opera house on Newport’s Washington Square. What’sUpNewp (WUN) reviewed all 990 forms filed by the Arts Center since 2002. The […]
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Newport Restoration Foundation to host sustainable fashion panel at Rough Point April 21
The Newport Restoration Foundation will host a panel discussion on the art and science of sustainable fashion at Rough Point Museum on Tuesday, April 21, as part of its Earth Week programming. The moderated conversation is scheduled from 6 to 7 p.m. and will explore the intersection of innovation, art and sustainable fashion. The panel […]
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Newport Jazz Festival to unveil 2026 lineup Tuesday, tickets on sale same day
The Newport Jazz Festival will unveil its 2026 lineup on Tuesday, April 21, with tickets going on sale the same afternoon for what will be the first festival under newly appointed Artistic Director Nate Smith. The festival returns to Fort Adams State Park on July 31, Aug. 1 and Aug. 2, marking its 72nd year […]
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Aquidneck Island Earth Week returns April 18–26 with cleanups, hikes, film screenings and more
From shoreline cleanups to geology hikes to a climate film festival, the 7th Annual Aquidneck Island Earth Week kicks off Saturday, April 18, with more than two weeks of events spread across Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth. Organized by Sara Poirier of Spark Strategic Science Communication, the nine-day celebration runs through April 26 and draws together […]
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Newport Little League to host annual fundraiser at O’Brien’s Pub on May 14
Newport Little League will hold its 2026 annual fundraiser from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 14 at O’Brien’s Pub, 501 Thames St., with tickets priced at $20 and including a drink and light appetizers. The event, which is open to all guests 21 and older, will also feature a raffle and silent auction. O’Brien’s […]
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Newport Restoration Foundation calls for nominations for 20th annual Doris Duke Historic Preservation Awards
The Newport Restoration Foundation is seeking nominations for the 2026 Doris Duke Historic Preservation Awards, marking the 20th anniversary of the joint program between the NRF and the City of Newport. The annual awards recognize exemplary historic preservation projects that carry forward the legacy of Doris Duke and have had a significant impact on the […]
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More than a building: Inside the next chapter of Newport’s Boys & Girls Clubs
“It’s not about a big building. It’s about what happens inside the building,” said Kelley Coen, newly appointed CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Newport County. She shared the remark at a recent Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce Women of Distinction event, where Coen was interviewed by Newport Chamber CEO Erin Donovan-Boyle. A […]
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Rhode Island Spirits and Save The Bay launch new gin made with botanicals foraged from Narragansett Bay’s shoreline
Rhode Island Spirits has partnered with Save The Bay to release a new gin made with botanicals foraged directly from the shoreline of Save The Bay’s Providence Bay Center, with a portion of every bottle sold going back to bay conservation. Rhodium Save The Bay Gin is the latest release from Rhode Island Spirits, New […]
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Vague on specifics, NPAC executive confident of raising millions to reopen opulent former opera house
In multiple exchanges of emails, we posed several questions to Melissa Caldwell Quinn, managing director of the Newport Performing Arts Center. This is another in our ongoing series on the opera house restoration project that is now approaching 25 years. WUN: Is this still a viable project? If not, what happens now? If it is, […]
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Arts & Cultural Alliance of Newport County accepting applications for $2,000 Tinney Family Arts Scholarship
The Arts & Cultural Alliance of Newport County is accepting applications for the Tinney Family Arts Scholarship Award, a $2,000 scholarship given each May to a Newport County high school senior who has demonstrated artistic talent and plans to continue studying the arts. The scholarship is open to seniors attending any high school in Newport […]
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15th annual Citizens Pell Bridge Run moves to August 30 due to planned Pell Bridge maintenance
The 15th annual Citizens Pell Bridge Run will take place Sunday, August 30 at 7 a.m., a departure from its traditional October date to accommodate significant maintenance and improvements planned for the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge this fall. The 4-mile run and walk begins in Jamestown and finishes in downtown Newport, offering participants a rare […]
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Newport Restaurant Group donates more than $81,000 to local nonprofits through 2025 gift card program
Newport Restaurant Group has donated $81,314 to seven local nonprofits through its annual gift card donation program, surpassing last year’s total and bringing the program’s cumulative giving to more than $366,000 since its launch in 2019. Through the program, $2 from every gift card purchase is directed to area nonprofits fighting food insecurity. The 2025 […]
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NOSOLO Giveback Foundation brings ‘Off to the Races’ Derby back to Newport on May 2
The NOSOLO Giveback Foundation will mark five years of mental health advocacy with a night at the races. The Middletown-based nonprofit, a registered 501(c)(3), will host Off to the Races: NOSOLO Foundation Derby on Saturday, May 2, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Salve Regina University’s Young Building. The Kentucky Derby-themed event features a live […]