INSIDE THIS EDITION:
- KICK OFF YOUR FALL WITH LLC'S CONVOCATION (THURS, SEP 4): David N. Cicilline presents "Creating Progress in Challenging Times"
- NOTES OF A FAMILY ODYSSEY – “OH NO. MORE STEPS" PART TWO by Gloria DePaola
- CLOTHES TO KIDS RI by Ruth Guyer
- I LOVE OUR EXERCISE CLASS AT LLC! by Judith Nudelman
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KICK OFF YOUR FALL WITH LLC
SEPTEMBER 4, 2025
David Cicilline to speak at the 2025 LLC Convocation
"Creating Progress in Challenging Times"
We are honored to have as our keynote speaker David N. Cicilline, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Rhode Island Foundation. One of the oldest community foundations in the country, the Rhode Island Foundation is working with neighbors and partners to create lasting progress in the Ocean State. Prior to being appointed to lead the Foundation, Mr. Cicilline represented Rhode Island's first congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2023, and prior to being elected to Congress he was mayor of Providence for two terms from 2003-2011 – the first openly gay mayor of a U.S. state capital city.
The theme of Mr. Cicilline's address will be "Creating Progress in Challenging Times." Following his keynote address, Mr. Cicilline will answer questions from the audience.
Today, our communities, our state and our country are grappling with multiple challenges–
- Serious threats to the rights of historically marginalized people;
- Cuts in Federal funding for state governments, educational and cultural institutions, medical research, health services, housing, food security, and more;
- Attempts to undermine our freedom, traditional democratic values, and Constitutional framework.
Who better than David Cicilline, with his perspective as the head of the largest and most comprehensive funder of nonprofit organizations in Rhode Island and his depth of government experience, to help us think about what we can and should be doing as individuals, as communities, and as a State to address current conditions?
Click to register for the in-person program at the Shriners Center.
Click to register for the Zoom Webinar speaker program.
Notes of a Family Odyssey – “Oh No. More Steps”
Part Two
by Gloria DePaola
On our first Saturday we met early in the morning at the Acropolis Museum. Lines had already formed at the Parthenon, which offers no protection from the sun. Opened in 2009, the Acropolis Museum’s window walls offer a panoramic view up at the Parthenon and down on modern Athens - one of the Europe’s greatest vistas. The space inside the museum is airy and serene so visitors focus on sculpture, pottery, handcrafts and other remnants of ancient Greece.
Except in its poshest neighborhoods like Kolonaki and Syntagma Square, Athens is covered with grafitti. Lots of “Free Palestine” markings are splashed around though there seems no room for anything new.
Stray cats roam everywhere in the city and on the islands. They don’t seem to belong to anyone yet they are well fed and content to bask in the sun or on your lap. Greek cats are even more independent than Greek cabdrivers.
Though June is not the high season, the country is filled with tourists. But there was no sense of crowding or hostility toward visitors as occurred this year in Spain. Greece seems to know how important tourism is to its economy. Shopkeepers, waiters and locals are friendly and treat visitors with dignity, though taxi drivers don’t always want to go where you ask to be taken. Thankfully Uber service was usually a few minutes away.
Paros was our first island hop – we had spacious rooms at Sto Roloi - a cluster of colorfully renovated apartments under the clock tower, the highest point on the island and a steep, paved climb up from the harbor. We went for morning swims on a quiet beach and one afternoon Lindsey arranged massages for herself, Matt and me. Bliss.
On Saturday we took a 30-minute boat ride to Hydra, an island that prohibits wheeled vehicles. The heavy lifting is done by donkeys. I pity the poor creatures but it makes for a quiet, peaceful environment. There are no touristy tee-shirt shops here. The boutiques are filled with pricy, beautifully curated clothes, jewelry and art objects.
Our charming inn is a short walk up from the port and comes with two cats that stroll in and out of our rooms. Breakfast is served every morning in a garden patio.
On Sunday we climbed 60 steep, pebbled steps to the Kountouriotis Museum, built by a patriot who financed the Greek War for Independence from the Turks in 1823. The yellow stucco 18th century house/cultural museum/ art gallery is currently showing vintage Greek travel posters from the 1950s to the 1970s. On our way back down to the port we notice someone had discarded a banana peel at the top of a long flight of steps. Disaster narrowly averted.
Two days later we leave for our third island – Spetses, where people buzz around narrow alleys and crowded squares in scooters, motorcycles, cars and horse-drawn carriages. Driving these narrow alleys is challenging but I didn’t see a single car with a scratch or dent.
Our Pensione Coralli is fully furnished with thick towels, toiletries, a bowl of marmalades and crackers, butter packets, cold drinks – even an umbrella. Every space is decorated with Greek tchotchkes – a lace umbrella, a fabric chicken, models of boats, brass items, a silver bowl of worry beads. The walls are covered with pictures and plates. There are hundreds of books on shelves and under tables. The owner lives on the floor above but we met him for the first time when we turned in the keys.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Clothes to Kids RI
by Ruth Guyer
I recently discovered an organization that provides FREE clothes to needy kids in RI, and I was so impressed with their work that I want to tell you all about it.
You, like me, might have grandchildren who are looking for a place to donate the clothes that they’ve outgrown, and (probably a smaller number of) you, like me, might love to sew, and want to make new clothes to give to kids who don’t often get brand new clothing. Also, if you have ever seen a teenager who is the same size that you are, then your (adult) clothes are also suitable to donate.
Clothes to Kids is a bright, cheerful, wonderful, beautifully organized and impressively run store in Johnston at 11 Commerce Way in a shopping mall across the road from the Jacavone Garden Center.
Every year, they provide 2400 wardrobes to kids. Each child who comes in is shown around the store by a volunteer personal shopper, who helps the child select from the racks and shelves the following:
- 5 tops
- 4 bottoms
- 1 jacket
- 1 pair of shoes
- 5 pairs of NEW underwear
- 5 pairs of NEW socks
- 5 extras: dresses, jewelry, stuffed animals, books, other fun items
Each child can shop twice a year.
The six little dresses that I made and dropped off there were being put on the “extras” rack.
Clothes to Kids RI is glad to accept cash donations (as you see, they are buying new packages of underwear and socks.) It currently has 27 full-time volunteers and 13 part-time volunteers but would love to have more volunteers to serve as personal shoppers and clothing sorters.
If you are looking for a great nonprofit to donate your money or your time to, please consider them. I was awestruck by the organization!
I’m back at my Singer Zig Zag Sewing Machine (purchased for me by my parents in 1958 and still humming away) making more clothes to donate to them.
Website: https://clothestokidsri.org/
Director: Karen@clothestokidsri.org
Phone: 401-787-1055
I love our exercise class at LLC!
by Judith Nudelman
Get Fit at Home: It is by far my favorite class. The comraderie is wonderful, and our personal trainer, Adam Stone, is highly experienced, upbeat and thoughtful.
I’ve seen friends harmed by less experienced trainers, and I cannot praise Adam enough. He watches us each closely for form and function and to avoid injury.
In our desire to maintain and improve our health, the fitness class has reaped rewards for all of us.
Eric Topol MD, premier scientist/cardiologist at Scripps Research Institute, has written “Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity.” He was shocked to find that genetics play a small role in healthy aging and habits play a much larger role. Exercise is key. In an interview he writes that the single most important thing people can do to age well is to exercise. Specifically, strength training. It’s more highly correlated with healthy aging than aerobic exercise.
Our trainer, Adam Stone, emphasizes strength training, along with balance exercises, stretching and mild aerobic exercise. He modifies each exercise for each individual. The work outs are challenging in the best way.
We use Zoom technology to allow us to exercise conveniently: at home, on vacation, at any time; the sessions are videotaped—showing ONLY our great trainer—and made available to us to use forever.
Every physician I see is thrilled to hear that I do strength/balance and stretching training on a regular basis.
On top of all of the physical benefits, exercise improves mood. I love our Friday gatherings, and I always feel better in every way after our exercise in the very best community with a superb trainer.
Please join us.
“We didn’t realise we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun.”
A. A. Milne
Photo by Drew Beamer on Unsplash