Two Portsmouth students were among the recipients of the Rhode Island Foundation's "Miss Swinburne Fund" awards, the foundation announced today. Portsmouth students receiving scholarships were Meredith Fitzgerald (URI) and Lorna Ashmore (New England Tech), placing them among the Newport County students and nonprofit groups that received $55,000 from the foundation this year.

There were 5 other scholarship recipients in Newport County towns. Middletown: Suzanne Pellerin (CCRI), Kajsa Mashaw-Smith (Rollins College); Jamestown: Alexandra Brown (Cedarville University); Newport: Kaori O’Neil (CCRI); and Litttle Compton: Kate Tierney (University of British Columbia).

The fund memorializes Elizabeth H. Swinburne, a civic-minded woman of the early 1900s who established a school in her Newport home to educate young women. Following her death, the Civic League of Newport continued her mission and, nine years ago, established the fund in her name. The Miss Swinburne Fund has provided nearly $500,000 in scholarships and grants to benefit young women from Newport County since 2002.

The Foundation also announced organizational grants to several Newport County nonprofits:

Friends of the Jamestown Philomenian Library
$1,000 to support the Arts Redux Project, a week-long camp for girls.

Literacy Volunteers of East Bay
$2,500 for the Newport County Women's Outreach Program earmarked for advertising costs and partial support for staffing.

Boys & Girls Club of Newport County
$5,000 to support the establishment of the Community Candles Project earmarked for supplies, transportation, fair fees, packaging, and partial support for staffing.

Child and Family Services of Newport County
$2,000 to support the Ophelia Sessions earmarked for staffing.

Star Kids Scholarship Program
$4,500 for tuition expenses and tutoring support for one Newport County Star Kids girl student to attend a non-public school of her choice for the 2011-2012 school year.

Women's Resource Center of Newport
$7,500 to support the Court Advocacy Program.

East Bay Community Action Program
$3,000 for the Sheroes of the Future program to support the costs for a facilitator.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center
$5,000 to support the Strong Woman Series of workshops for women in Newport County.

The Miss Swinburne Fund will seek scholarship applications from Newport County women again in spring 2012. A full list of scholarships offered through The Rhode Island Foundation is available at the Scholarships/Scholarship Opportunities section of the Foundation’s website, www.rifoundation.org.

The Miss Swinburne Fund is one of more than 1,100 component named funds at The Rhode Island Foundation. Last year, the Foundation and its donors made $29.2 million in grants to nonprofit organizations. Whether your interest is education, health care, the environment, or a particular nonprofit organization, you can have a significant, far-reaching impact in the state. To discuss becoming a donor, please call (401) 427-4027.

Editorial note: Written from a press release. Congratulations to all the recipients, and a big tip of the hat to the Foundation for all your support of critical local groups and our students.