Middletown (RI) July 17, 2023 – Community leaders, dignitaries, clients, and friends came together for Child & Family’s 9th Annual Townsend Luncheon, held on Wednesday, June 21, 2023. With much success thanks to Community Partners as well as an exciting Fund the Mission, the luncheon exceeded its goal and raised over $80,000 to benefit Child & Family programs.
The event is an annual celebration of Ellen Townsend and her founding of Child & Family, originally an orphanage called the Home for Friendless Children, in 1866. This year’s luncheon highlighted the important work of providing the continuum of care for the children, families, and older adults Child & Family serves throughout Rhode Island. The event was an elegant sit-down lunch, at the spectacular OceanCliff Hotel in Newport, RI, with speakers including Child & Family leadership, Community Leaders, and clients.
The event’s keynote speaker was Amanda Carlson, a client who has benefitted from Child & Family’s Supportive Housing and East Bay Family Care Community Partnership (FCCP) programs. In her moving testimonial she shared: “We all know the difficulty of raising children, and it is even harder when you are doing it alone. With Child & Family, I do not feel alone, I feel supported…Child & Family has been there from the beginning of my life and continues to make my family stronger… Thank you for providing my family a safe place to reunite as a family once again.”
Child & Family’s Supportive Housing Program provides safe, secure housing to homeless families with children in Newport, RI. Through participation in this Program, parents are provided with wraparound case management and access to a continuum of care that provides the resources necessary for them to secure permanent housing and improve the overall health and wellbeing of their families. Up to 12 families each year, or 48 individuals, directly benefit from this program which is funded entirely through grants and the generosity of Community Partners.
Child & Family’s East Bay Family Care Community Partnership (FCCP), funded by RI’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families, assists families by connecting them with providers, resources, and community supports. The FCCP helps families rediscover a sense of hope for their family and provides the tools needed to foster a stronger, brighter future.
Child & Family is grateful to all of their 2023 Community Partners including The Aramli Foundation, BedJet, BayCoast Bank, Affiliated Insurance Managers, Bowen’s Wharf Company, Gustave White Sotheby’s International Realty, BankNewport, Homes by Connect, Gil’s Appliances, Corrigan Financial, Newport Hospital, Neighborhood Health Plan of RI, Brady Sullivan Properties, Salve Regina University, Delta Dental, Kiwanis Club of Newport, host venue and caterer OceanCliff Hotel, event photographer Allan Millora Photography, their dedicated Child & Family Special Events and Development Committee members, Co-Chairs, Ann Conner and Laura Yalanis; and all the generous supporters who give to Child & Family all year round.
Child & Family would like the community to save the date for their 40th Annual Taste of Newport celebration to be held Sunday, October 29, 2023, at the Wyndham Newport Hotel in Middletown, RI! Guests will enjoy an evening of tasting, sipping, and mingling, along with the opportunity to bid on tempting silent auction offerings, all while learning about the important work of Child & Family throughout Rhode Island. To learn more, please visit childandfamilyri.org/tasteofnewport/.
Photographs provided by Alan Millora of Allan Millora Photography & Associates.
For high resolution photos, email jwhelihan@childandfamilyri.org.
Child & Family Current and Past Board of Director Members
Brenna Berglund, Child & Family’s Performance, Quality & Improvement Supervisor, dressed as Child & Family founder Ellen Townsend
Keynote speaker Amanda Carlson, a client who has benefitted from Child & Family’s Supportive Housing and East Bay Family Care Community Partnership (FCCP) programs
Heather Bishop, Child & Family’s Supportive Housing Case Manager, introducing Amanda
Mayor Xay Khamsyvoravong addressing the audience discussing the history and relationship between Child & Family and the City of Newport, RI
Child & Family President & CEO, Marty Sinnott, introducing the event’s Fund the Mission Auctioneer Jessie Drew, Child & Family’s FCT & FFT Clinical Supervisor
Child & Family’s Jerrica Lavallee-Guyer, Kristine Bouthillier, Kim Sihavong, Jessie Drew & Gabriel Soden (left to right)
Honorary Co-Chair Laura Yalanis, Blake Banky, & Marty Sinnott, Child & Family’s President & CEO (left to right)
Child & Family’s Board of Director Member, Siobhan Kits van Heyningen, with her husband Hendrik Kits van Heyningen
Sharon Alemany, Janet Emison Sinnott, & Lisa Ferreira (left to right)
Patrick & Faith Sullivan
Mamie Johannessen, Lauren Kammerer, Judi Fiske, Sharon Alemany & Ellen Naughton (left to right)
Alda Fernandes, Kathleen Rendos & Mary Beth Pelletier (left to right)
Siobhan Kits van Heyningen, Lynette Dawley & Laura Yalanis (left to right)
Ken Desmarais with Fernando (Fred) Barbosa, Child & Family’s Senior Director of Permanency (left to right)
Guests enjoying the Fund the Mission Auction
Courtney Hunter with Beth Thompson, Child & Family’s Grant Writer (left to right)
