Investing in the Future: CCRI getting closer to $1 M goal

Each day the CCRI Foundation grows closer to reaching its fund-raising goal of $1 million to provide up-to-date technology and furnishings for the Newport County campus.

The comprehensive campaign has already garnered gifts of a $100,000 gift from Bank Newport, $100,000 from the McBean Foundation, $35,000 from Raytheon Inc., $30,000 from the Stride Foundation, $25,000 from Amica corporation, $25,000 from NewportFed and  $25,000 gift from People’s Credit Union.

The three co-chairpersons of the campaign are Newport Mayor Richard Sardella, Newport Hospital President and CEO Arthur Sampson, and Raytheon Vice President Richard Buchanan. Honorary chair for the campaign is the Honorable Claiborne Pell, former U.S. senator from Rhode Island. Among the senator’s many accomplishments during his 36 years as a public servant is the creation of Federal Pell Grant program that offers financial assistance to students pursuing associate and bachelor degrees.

While a $10.9 million bond passed in 2000 financed the campus’s construction (with an additional $1.5 million allotted by the state legislature last summer), money has not been allocated to outfit the campus with the  technological hardware necessary to make the campus operational. The campus is slated to open in 2005.

Citing the Thompson Middle School campaign, Mayor Sardella explained that the local community has been very supportive of education in the past, and that he hopes for even greater business participation for the CCRI campaign.

Sampson has had some highly visible fundraising experience in the area, having recently completed a $16 million dollar campaign for Newport Hospital. Rather than considering it a conflict to raise funds for another local institution, Sampson considers it a necessity in the current health care climate. "Selfishly, the students are CCRI represent my future workforce. I need nurses. I need rehabilitative health workers. The Community College of Rhode Island can provide local people with the right set of skills. This makes economic sense," he said. Currently, more than 600 students are enrolled in classes held at Newport Hospital, which serves as an official CCRI satellite. In fall 2001, when CCRI was faced with budget cuts that would have forced the closing of this satellite, Sampson was instrumental in brokering a deal whereby CCRI could waive its rent and pay only nominal costs until the new campus became operational.

Just as Sampson represents the educational needs of the health care industry, the third co-chairperson on the campaign, Raytheon’s Buchanan represents the educational needs of the area’s defense industry.

"Our three chairpersons—Mayor Sardella, Arthur Sampson, and Richard Buchanan—represent the diverse audiences on Aquidneck Island, from public service to non-profit institutions to the private sector," said CCRI President Thomas D. Sepe. "They all have one thing in common, however: the need for quality education to propel the community and the local economy forward. By supporting CCRI, you are supporting your neighbors who can further their education and receive relevant job skills right in their own backyard. And, you are supporting every business in the area that relies on skilled workforce to succeed."

Among the naming opportunities associated with the campaign are the 25-seat auditorium, the campus’s student services wing, the nursing lab and the 16 technologically "smart" classrooms.

Additional members of the comprehensive campaign committee are: Thomas Brady of Brady Enterprises, Inc., William Corcoran of Newport Tent Company, Thomas Delaney of the Hyatt Regency Newport, David Gordon of the Newport School Committee, Ellen Ford of People’s Credit Union, Dr. Robert Healey, Marilyn Kaplan, Mary Jan MacLean of the Newport Public Education Fund, David Miller of SEACorp, Stephen Ostiguy of Church Community Housing Corporation, Leonard Panaggio, Jr., of Newport Harbor Corporation, Dr. Charles Shoemaker, and Charlotte Yeomans of Van Liew Trust Company. In addition to the campaign committee, CCRI has organized a 25-member citizen’s advisory committee and a 20-member education committee.

Those interested in participating in the CCRI Newport County Campaign comprehensive campaign may contact Dean Julie White at 333-7150.