by Alison Pierce

In celebration of National Reading Month, our March Missions donation of $500 was directed to the nonprofit Reach Out and Read Rhode Island. This organization was developed by
pediatricians and early childhood educators who recognized that early exposure to books and reading greatly increased a child’s chance for healthy development and lifelong success. To
encourage families to incorporate book reading into their evening routine, a new developmentally- and age-appropriate book is provided at each checkup. Today, there are 70 hospitals, clinics,
practices, and community health centers statewide reaching 40,000 children and providing 80,000 new books at no cost to families each year so that they can start their own personal library at
home.Close to home, these books are available at Thundermist Health Center of Woonsocket and Blackstone Valley Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine in North Smithfield.

Once again, our Missions dollars were able to support the Men’s Shelter in March by providing 25 meals from the Broaster House, along with desserts baked by Sandy Gamache. We thank all of you for your generosity in keeping this important mission going. We will provide one more meal in April before the shelter closes for the season, reopening in October of 2024.

Our congregation continues to help support the unhoused population in Providence by donating coats to Mathewson Street Church in Providence for distribution to those in need.