Papitto Opportunity Connection
How an all-BIPOC board of advisors at the foundation is better serving communities of color . By Jamie Coelho
We were born poor . I was able to learn what it meant to overcome and succeed against all odds . We moved to Cape Cod when I was in eighth grade , and Cape Cod gave me a completely different world view . I was able to take my work ethic , my skills I had from growing up in Roxbury and blend those with this understanding of opportunity in education . At the same time , when we went back to visit our family in Roxbury , it was concerning to see the disparity of wealth that was fifty miles apart . That set in motion for me a life of philanthropy , a life dedicated to giving to others . TING : I came to America [ from Laos ] at the age of one . We lived on Orms Street in Providence , and we were undocumented . There are four of us siblings — two girls , two boys — each two years apart . My parents raised four children while speaking very little English . They worked hard and managed to put all four of us through college .
Q + A >>
“ Superheroes without capes ” is how people have described the team behind Papitto Opportunity Connection . The nonprofit private foundation , based in Providence , works within Rhode Island ’ s Black , Indigenous and people of color communities to provide education and job skills training and support entrepreneurship .
The foundation is the vision of Ralph and Barbara Papitto , whose long-term goal was to invest in underserved communities . After philanthropist Ralph R . Papitto died in 2019 , his wife , Barbara , became a trustee along with John Tarantino and Ed Pieroni . The POC Foundation has an entirely BIPOC board , whose members work to determine grant and microloan recipients and distribute funding to BIPOC businesses and programs . The foundation also started the Transform Rhode Island scholarship to help students from underserved communities attend college . We sat down with the first advisory board members , Ting Barnard and Arnell Milhouse :
What is the Papitto Opportunity Connection ? ARNELL : Ralph Papitto grew up in humble beginnings as a son of immigrants . He came here believing in the American dream . He and Barbara Papitto wanted to invest in underserved communities and they created Read to Succeed in 2008 , but they wanted to do something bigger to make more of a long-term impact . The Papitto Opportunity Connection involves opportunities and connection . TING : They created pathways to success in education , entrepreneurship and workforce development . And we ’ re also the American dream story , the two of us .
What is your American dream story ? ARNELL : I was born to a single mom in Roxbury , Massachusetts .
How were you chosen to be on the advisory board ? TING : I serve on the board for Leadership Rhode Island , and I am actively involved in the mentorship program for College Leadership Rhode Island . John [ Tarantino ] called me and said I think this is an extension of the work you ’ ve been doing in the community through the Friendship Foundation . Arnell and I had never met , but we were working separately within our communities . Now we are working together by creating focus groups , having one-on-one conversations , and asking communities , “ What are your needs ?” ARNELL : John was breaking down the goals , and my research into the life of Dr . Martin Luther King Jr . came to mind . I said this is exactly what Dr . King was working on in the two years prior to his assassination .
How much funding has been made available ? ARNELL : It started with $ 50 million , then it went to $ 100 million , now it ’ s $ 150 million . After Ralph passed , trustees Barbara Papitto , John Tarantino and Ed Pieroni put their heads together about how they can best use inherited wealth to impact communities of color . They said we need to have an all-BIPOC board of advisors because Barbara said , “ I never want to assume what communities of color need .”
Are there organizations you are most proud of helping ? TING : The Center for Southeast Asians in Rhode Island . We feel proud to know that we have support from an organization that really cares about who we are . ARNELL : I am overjoyed to see how the African American community is coming together and forming unity . It ’ s rewarding seeing recipients burst into tears because they have been at this work for ten or fifteen or thirty years and telling us they never had support like this and what it means to them . TING : And hopefully they are taking what they ’ ve learned , and in turn , being mentors and leaders for others . pocfoundation . com
PHOTOGRAPH BY IAN TRAVIS BARNARD .
18 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l APRIL 2022