“Phone From Home” Phone-A-Thon Raises $124,600 For Scholarships

For 27 years, Scholarship Foundation of East Providence has gathered about 75 volunteers in a local business in mid-March to reach out to the community to provide funds for scholarships for students in our city. This year was different. To comply with Covid guidelines, less than half as many volunteers made calls from their homes in what was dubbed a “Phone from Home” Phone-a-thon.

The remarkable results demonstrate the overwhelming support of both current East Providence residents and of East Providence High School alumni and former Townies who chose to give back to their community by contributing to existing scholarships or establishing new ones.

Scholarship Foundation of East Providence recognizes the support of The Carter Fund which matched the first $45,000 received. Thanks to the generous support of families, businesses and organizations, this year’s phone-a-thon set the record for the most ever raised – more than $124,600. As a result, high school and college students living in East Providence will receive scholarships ranging from $1,100 to $2,000 this year through the phone-a-thon. Over the past two and a half decades, phone-a-thons have provided more than $2.3 million in scholarships for city residents.

From the safety of their homes, students from East Providence High School, as well as college students who were past scholarship recipients and their families took part in the fundraising event. Representatives of community groups and board members of Scholarship Foundation of East Providence joined in contacting thousands of East Providence residents.

“This was an incredible show of support for our students,” stated Phone-a-thon Chair Louise Paiva. “It will help more than a hundred students continue their education and achieve their career goals.”

Scholarship Foundation of East Providence President Joseph Durand noted that ten new scholarships and one book award were initiated this year through the phone-a-thon. They include the Kerrie Atwell Book Award, as well as the following scholarships: Nancy Amore Memorial, Roseann Garvin Memorial, Raymond Frackelton Memorial, Dorothy K. Hazelton Memorial, Leonard Iannacone Memorial, Marie Jelnick Memorial, Carla Midgley Memorial, Irving and Ray Peterson Memorial, Mary Studley Memorial and Tabitha Watjen Scholarship.

East Providence schools participated in Dress Down Days and made their contributions during the phone-a-thon. Ten past classes of East Providence High School contributed to increase the amount they award. Alumni from East Providence High School Classes of 1950, 1955, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1973, 1974, 1985 and 2009 collectively raised more than $12,000 in scholarships.

The Scholarship Foundation acknowledged the continuing support Nordson EFD. The company provided postage and mailing services for this year’s phone-a-thon.