Meet the Nominees
Q3: September 2026 Nominees
Hands in Harmony
EIN: 82-2280925
SOCIAL: INSTAGRAM.@handsinharmonyri
Mission Statement
Hands in Harmony is a Rhode Island based 501(C)3 nonprofit organization that provides Neurologic Music Therapy® (NMT™) services to anyone from birth to end of life. Hands in Harmony helps all people reach their true potential using proven music therapy interventions grounded in neuroscience to overcome a range of physical and psychological problems. Hands in Harmony’s model is grounded in local research and ensures effectiveness and integrated collaboration that broadens services and client impact. Our team comprises highly qualified licensed music therapists and other highly qualified professionals.
Who They Serve
Hands in Harmony provides multilingual Music Therapy services to infants, children, adolescents, adults, and older adults across the lifespan, as well as their families and caregivers. We support medically complex individuals and those with developmental disabilities, neurologic conditions, mental health needs, traumatic injuries, and individuals receiving hospice or end-of-life care in Early Intervention, schools, hopsitals, assisted living facilities, hospice, home and clinic based.
How Would Funds Be Used
If selected, we would allocate the donated funds to establish the Hands in Harmony Access Fund to subsidize direct music therapy services for uninsured and underinsured Rhode Island families. Based on our current discounted, private pay fee structure, this award will support approximately 70–125, depending on whether services are delivered in individual, small group, or 30-minute formats. We anticipate directly benefiting approximately 15–40 individuals and their families while ensuring continuity of care and expanding access to linguistically responsive services.
Annual Budget
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Annual Operating Budget: $721,333
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Annual Operating Costs: $626,792
Sources of Funding
Fee-for-service revenue, community partners, grant funding, institutional partnerships, and individual philanthropic contributions.
Additional Information
Clothes to Kids prides itself on being able to provide quality new and used clothing to children in a non-threatening, non-judgemental, respectful retail-like environment.
The organization’s incredible staff and loyal volunteers work to make all families feel welcomed and stretch every donated dollar to the maximum. Typically, the thrift value of clothing that is able to be provided on an annual basis is about 2 – 3 times the operating budget!
What inspired you to nominate this organization?
“Through my involvement in music for over 40 years, teaching choral music in the public and private schools for 31 years, teaching private piano lessons for 10 years, singing in various groups for many years, I have discovered that music is magical!
I know that music not only is fun, but is a confidence builder, is therapeutic for the mind, body and soul, and is very necessary to develop the whole being. Thousands of students have passed through my classes and I can say that most have reached a potential that not even they could imagine with the main ingredient being some kind of music."
Marilyn Williams, 100 Women Member
Pawtucket Backpackers
EIN: 47-5657985
Social:
FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/pawtucket.backpackers/
Mission Statement
It is the mission of the Pawtucket Backpackers to help eliminate food insecurity among Pawtucket school students and their families on weekends by providing supplemental food through student carry home bags as well as by providing bulk food items six (6) 6 school pantries.
Who They Serve
Pawtucket students and their families, as well as six School-based food pantries
How Would Funds Be Used
Food has been provided for 36 weeks during this school year. PB provided 16,166 bags of food for students equaling more than 100,000 pounds of food during the first 31 weeks (the school year is not yet finished). With this donation, we would be able to shop for more nutritious food, fruit cups, applesauce, oatmeal, and granola bars, etc., supplementing what we receive from the Food Bank and outreach programs. These items total about $600 each week for 500 students.
Annual Budget
Annual Budget (2023 numbers)
Annual Operating Budget: 13, 838.95
Annual Operating Costs 11, 659.57
Sources of Funding
Grants from RI Food Bank, RI House of Representatives, Temple BethEl, Nathanael Greene Elementary PTA, Burger King, Quota Club, Stop & Shop Growin’ 4 Good, and individuals through Facebook (network for good) and Paypal
What inspired you to nominate this organization?
“They were mentioned in a Providence Journal volunteer column and I visited them as volunteers were packing bags to be dispersed. I was impressed by the highly organized procedure as well as the dedication of those who saw a need and were determined to fill it.”
Marti Schwartz, 100 Women Member
West Place Animal Sanctuary
EIN: 14-2005606
WEBSITE
SOCIAL: INSTAGRAM.@westplaceanimalsanctuary
Mission Statement
West Place Animal Sanctuary’s mission is to rescue, rehabilitate, and responsibly care for vulnerable farm animals and wildlife while cultivating a more compassionate community. West Place seeks to change attitudes toward farm animals and wildlife, and prepare students to make meaningful contributions to society.
Founded in 2007 by Wendy Taylor, West Place is dedicated to underserved and often overlooked animal populations. The organization also serves as the Town of Little Compton’s official lost dog shelter and stewards the historic Dr. Samuel West Place farm estate. Both Taylor and West Place have been recognized locally and internationally for leading-edge contributions to animal welfare.
West Place has grown into a vital community asset filling a glaring void in Rhode Island’s animal welfare landscape. The nonprofit serves farm animals and wildlife as well as law enforcement agencies, traditional animal shelters, and the state’s wildlife clinic. West Place has evolved beyond a traditional sanctuary to become a “living laboratory,” addressing a growing need among students, educators, and employers.
Who They Serve
West Place serves animals and residents from every town in Rhode Island. The organization directly serves underrepresented animal populations that are often left out of traditional animal welfare conversations, and is a resource for the public, municipal and state law enforcement agencies, traditional animal shelters, and the state’s wildlife clinic and network of licensed rehabilitators. Simultaneously, West Place offers a welcoming environment to a diverse group of volunteers, student interns, and visitors representing the communities it serves throughout the state.
How Would Funds Be Used
Funds would be used to support West Place’s Humane Education & Workforce Development Internship Program. Central to West Place’s vision for a more compassionate community is the education and preparation of skilled and humane workers. Offered entirely free of charge and now in its 9th year, the Internship Program ensures equitable access to life-changing education. As educational institutions reduce or eliminate on-site animal care facilities and laboratories, West Place is uniquely situated to fill a critical void in animal sciences, sustainable agriculture, and applied workforce training.
The Internship Program serves more than 160 students annually, supporting both degree-seeking students and individuals pursuing skills-based career pathways. It provides local high school and college students with practical, hands-on experiential education opportunities available nowhere else in the region, and develops a local workforce pipeline for in-demand careers that are currently experiencing workforce shortages in RI. Grounded in practical experience, humane values, and long-term employability, the Internship Program serves students who may not otherwise have access to farm-based education or direct animal care experiences, as well as those with prior experience and education looking to enhance their skills and bolster their knowledge.
Number of Individuals Who Would Be Impacted By A Donation
The number of student interns directly impacted depends on the amount of funds and whether they are applied to the in-depth School-Year Session (September - May) or the accelerated Summer Session (June - August). West Place invests approximately $5,000 per school-year intern and $2,500 per summer intern in onboarding, training, education, curriculum creation, student assessments, supplies, and program administration. Combined with funding from other sources, the Internship Program will directly impact nearly 200 students each year, and will have a downstream impact on countless individuals, animals, businesses, communities, and economies in Rhode Island for generations to come.
Annual Budget
Annual Operating Budget: $556,746
Annual Operating Costs: $554,427
Sources of Funding
West Place Animal Sanctuary receives no annual funding from municipal, state, or federal government sources for its farm animal rescue and wildlife rehabilitation work. Despite being the only nonprofit in Rhode Island to combine farm animal rescue, wildlife rehabilitation, environmental sustainability, humane education, and workforce development, there is no dedicated public funding stream for this specialized work. The animals served are among the most underrepresented and underfunded in the animal welfare landscape. Public perceptions and attitudes toward farm animals and wildlife are changing, but the absence of government support reflects a broader, systemic gap that West Place works every day to fill.
The organization does receive funding from the Town of Little Compton, which is designated exclusively for the operation of the lost dog kennel and does not support West Place’s primary farm animal and wildlife programs or any other program. Similarly, while West Place has provided housing, rehabilitation, and ongoing care to animals referred by the Wildlife Clinic of Rhode Island since its founding in 2007, they receive no compensation or financial assistance from the clinic for those services. The same is true of the many other animal welfare organizations, shelters, law enforcement agencies, and facilities within Rhode Island that rely on West Place when they have nowhere else to turn.
West Place is sustained entirely through the generosity of the community – individual donors, in-kind contributions, and the support of a small but growing number of private foundations and local businesses. This enables the organization to continue providing the level of care that its animals deserve and its community depends on.
What inspired you to nominate this organization?
“ I started volunteering at the farm in the spring and love what they are doing to help animals rescued from situations of abandonment, neglect, health issues, or other reasons. They also work closely with local schools to educate young people on all facets of running a non-profit. The love and care they show to all the animals on the farm is incredible and they go out of their way to ensure that all of their bird/animal farm family members get the loving and supportive care they need.”
Maggie Keller, 100 Women Member