State senators and representatives deliver grants to promote students’ civic pride
The combined efforts of Representatives Michael A. Morin, Stephen M. Casey and Robert D. Phillips, as well as Senators Marc A. Cote and Roger Picard, have helped to provide funding for Woonsocket fifth-graders to visit the Museum of Work & Culture free of charge.
On Tuesday, April 12, the Representatives and Senator Cote joined Nicole Lavallee’s Bernon Heights Elementary class as they arrived for their tour of the Museum and a special presentation by baseball historian and author Greg Rubano.
The $5,000 combined Rhode Island House and Senate grants will allow the Museum of Work & Culture to finance transportation and admission for 500 fifth-graders, and has also provided funding for the development & implementation of a three-part civic pride program aimed at having students reflect on why they should be proud of their city.
As part of the program, each student will create a piece of art expressing a reason why they take pride in themselves, their school, or their community. These pieces will be displayed as part of a Woonsocket Proud exhibit in the MoWC’s changing gallery from May 17 to June 23. In addition, during each class’s visit to the MoWC, Rubano will give an interactive talk on local baseball Hall of Famer Napoleon Lajoie focused on drawing comparisons between the lives of the students and the difficulties and accomplishments of the larger-than-life figure. As a follow-up to their visits, students will also be given the opportunity to participate in an essay contest, where they will be asked to describe how they plan to become a source of pride for their city.
Also, with generous donations from the Woonsocket Rotary Club and the Museum of Work & Culture’s Preservation Foundation, the Museum will be able to provide copies of Rubano’s book Before the Babe, the Emperor to essay contest winners and participating classrooms.
