- [Announcer] Thank you to our patron sponsor.

Rhode Island PBS presents "Our Town," the program where we learn about the people, places, history, and happenings of each town around the Ocean State through the eyes of those who live there.

Watch now, as they show us everything that makes their community a great hometown.

Nestled between five cities and towns, North Providence is a small but booming community known for thriving businesses and a family atmosphere.

Originally a farming town, North Providence separated from Providence in 1765.

At just over five square miles, North Providence is the smallest town in the state.

Did you know, North Providence elected its first mayor in 1974?

Over the next hour, our volunteer filmmakers tell stories of North Providence, past and present.

These are their stories.

This is "Our Town:" North Providence.

(cheerful gentle music) - Hello.

My name is Thomas Green.

I am the town historian for the town of North Providence.

And in particular, I'm gonna tell you a story of one section of North Providence called the Fruit Hill District and its beginnings.

The Fruit Hill District was actually the earliest settled and apparently important area in North Providence.

The first settlement in Fruit Hill occurred to my right, across this main street at the intersection of Capitol View Avenue and Smith Street.

And there in 1757, a man named Ezra Olney built a house and had a family of 10 children, was married twice and his children, some of them survived and went on to live elsewhere along this street, which eventually got his name.

It's called Olney Avenue right now.

I am standing here in front of a house on the site of Samuel Olney's plot of land.

He built the house, not this one that's in back of me, but another house, which would've been Cape Cod style houses.

I'm standing now at the intersection of Fruit Hill Avenue and Smith Street and to my left side and back of me, we see a large Victorian house.

It is the site of a house that was built sometime between 1760 and 1770.

A member of the Olney family, who was a cousin to Ezra, named Charles Olney, owned the land and gave to his son, Epenetus, the piece of land upon which Epenetus built this house.

In 1825, the first post office in this part of North Providence, Western North Providence was housed in the old structure.

About 1835, a man named Henry B. Drowne, who lived some land in the vicinity.

He and his sisters purchased the house and they established a private school which became a very exclusive private school called the Fruit Hill Classical Institute.

It thrived from 1835 until 1861.

The man who ran the school from 1840, or actually was the principal, was a man named Stanton Belden.

in 1873, the old building burned to the ground and Stanton decided to rebuild it.

(engine roaring) What he rebuilt was the house, the building that you see now.

This house is known as the Edward Wales Olney House.

So obviously, it was owned by one of the members of the Olney family.

Edward was a grandson of Ezra, the first settler.

The house actually was built by Edward's brother.

Well also in 1861, the other son, Ira, built this house that I'm standing in front of.

The original house had what's called a mansard roof.

After the fire, they rebuilt the roof in a less expensive way by putting a hip roof on the house and that's what remains to this day.

This is the Stephen Whipple House.

And Stephen Whipple was not a relation to anyone in the Olney family, but his house was built on land he bought from Ezra Olney around 1767.

Once there, at some point, either was given or began to plant fruit trees, I guess in particular cherry trees, and the trees became very prolific.

And at some point people started to call this area, which was a hill already, Fruit Hill.

(jaunty upbeat music) - Hi, I'm Mark Allison.

And please enjoy this story about Yacht Club soda.

I grew up in Centredale, I went to Centredale School.

I lived like two seconds away from Yacht Club.

I mean, I remember when I was a kid, me and my friends scraping up change to go over there and get sodas out of the old machine that they used to have outside.

We had wanted to do a story about Yacht Club for a while and we reached out to them a few years back and we were gonna do a little documentary, mini-doc, on it.

And it kind of just never came to fruition.

So when we saw this, we were so excited that we had a chance to actually follow through and do that.

In 1915, English businessman Harry Sharp came to North Providence and opened up Yacht Club Bottling Works, and it's been a staple in North Providence ever since.

Located in the heart of Centredale, Yacht Club has been a mainstay in an ever-evolving Centredale Village.

While many businesses have come and gone over the years, the clink of soda bottles running through their bottling process can be heard a couple times a week at the bottom of Mineral Spring Avenue.

The beverages at Yacht Club are all mixed and bottled right on-site by the third generation owners, John and Michael Sgambato.

They've been running the business since it was passed to them by their father, the late Bill Sgambato who took over the family business from his father, John.

- In 1956, I came to work when I was go going to school at summers and then my father and I took it over in 1961.

- [Mark] Yacht Club still uses its original recipe of cane sugar and real natural flavors to get their soda tasting just right.

It could be those old recipes that have been mastered over a century that keep the soda flowing at Yacht Club, but they also have another secret ingredient.

You see, the location of the bottling plant is not in any way trivial.

Yacht Club Bottling Works sits atop an incredible artisan well that was drilled back in 1923.

And that water just might be what puts Yacht Club soda over the top.

- You can take the cap off a bottle of our soda, and I have bars that did this, and leave it uncapped for a day, like overnight.

Go the next morning, still have carbonation in it.

The water accepts it so well that it stays in it.

- [Narrator] The carbonation holds far longer than most beverages and the taste is just about as pure as you could imagine.

Some of the equipment factory is still there from the 1940s.

When things break, they fix them.

Rather than always replacing or updating to new equipment, Yacht Club has always managed to keep most of the machinery used in the mixing and bottling process for decades.

One thing that Yacht Club has changed over the years, to great success I might add, is the labels on their bottles.

In 2018, they had local artist, Mike Bryce, rebrand the labels on their bottles and now each Yacht Club flavor pays tribute to a different Rhode Island scene.

In recent years, they've introduced some new flavors and seasonal batches, as well as their infamous presidential poll flavors during the election season.

Today, Yacht Club beverages can be found all over Rhode Island and Southern New England, as well as in various spots across the country.

While they've managed to keep their drinks mixed and bottled with the same traditional style that got them their start over 100 years ago, they've managed to keep up with the times in other ways: they've embraced social media.

And with the public at large, in particular the younger population, embracing buying from small businesses and supporting local products, Yacht Club seems to be poised to carry on their original soda pop for many years to come.

(upbeat jazzy music) (cheerful music) - My name is Julie Pistachio Ferreira and my story's about the immigration from Ciorlano, Italy to Lymansville.

So last year during COVID I had a lot of extra time on my hands so I really started researching, kind of going beyond the ancestry.com things and, you know, researching where my ancestors came from, in this case, my great grandparents, and I found that I was just kind of amazed that there were so many connections to North Providence between this obscure town in the middle of nowhere in Southern Italy to North Providence so we decided to go visit.

Rising above what was once Cranberry Bog Pond, the history of Lymansville extends well beyond its contribution to the industrial revolution.

Many Southern Italians came here from the small town of Ciorlano, Italy.

When my great-grandfather was 16-years-old, he set sail on the SS Burgundia.

It landed on Ellis Island in mid-May, 1895.

His final destination was Providence, Rhode Island, where he would later move to the Lymansville section of North Providence.

My great grandparents haven't been here in over a century, but the connection to North Providence can be seen right here.

In 1953, North Providence resident, Dr. Edward Ricci, who was born in Ciorlano refurbished the square as a tribute to the town of his birth.

Dr. Ricci served as the physician for the North Providence School Department.

In 1981, the former Lymansville Elementary School was renamed in his honor.

And I was just amazed that there were so many connections to North Providence and they were there for years and years and I just, I never knew it.

When we first got there we were walking around in the Piazza and some of the little streets there, and we were stopped by some people.

You know, they wanted to know what we were doing.

So they're Italian, well, my Italian isn't that good, their English wasn't that good so they called this young woman over to speak to us 'cause she spoke English and come to find out we were cousins and we were related through my great grandmother.

I discovered that there was another woman who lived in the town who went to Lymansville Elementary School with me.

We were in the second grade together.

Now there's only 500 people who live in this town.

Lymansville was a welcomed respite for many Italian immigrants.

Mutual aid societies were a vital resource that helped these immigrants assimilate like the one that was started here by my great-grandfather in 1909.

The organization was founded to provide health insurance, death benefits and unemployment.

However, by the mid-20th century, the purpose of this organization changed.

The Duke, as it was called, opened its Emanuel Street function hall in April, 1951.

The group had many dinners and testimonials featuring prominent members from the community.

The Duke was also mentioned in the congressional record of March, 1924 as opposing passage of the Johnson Immigration Bill, a law which placed quotas on immigration from southern Italy.

In 1955, the building and land were sold to Ricci's Super Market, which operated at the Emanuel Street address for many years.

I read somewhere that, recently, that a family is only as strong as their stories and I thought this was a great opportunity.

Like I said, my grandparents always talked about this history and I thought it was a good way, you know, to provide something tangible that we could pass down to each generation so our children would know where they're coming from.

(upbeat music) (bright music) - Hi, my name is Isabella Gemma and this is my story about Governor Notte Park.

(children murmuring) (upbeat bright music continues) (upbeat bright music continues) (upbeat bright music continues) (upbeat bright music continues) (upbeat bright music continues) (upbeat bright music continues) (upbeat bright music continues) (sporty organ music) - Yeah.

This park has been really important to us.

It's different than most parks, like, the way it's designed, I guess.

But I just always remember seeing all of our fans all at the top and then it gets filled up and you can see everyone cheering for you and it's really special, the way that this park is.

And then it's a public park.

It's nice to see people walking.

A lot of time, we'll have practice and a little kid will throw the ball over the fence.

And it's really, it's a nice place to practice and play.

- This field has great history, actually.

This is where the origination of the Rhode Island State Championship Softball all started.

So the history dates back 40 years of being in this park, the State Championship, the winning team after they won used to to rush off the field and jump into the river out there, the twin rivers.

In my opinion, it's the crown jewel of softball in the state because of the way it's set.

It's sunken in.

It gives you that nice atmosphere.

Exactly what you want for a high school girls softball field.

Playing here tonight on senior night, okay?

What does this mean to you guys at the end of your career in North Providence?

Olivia, if you want to start.

- I think it just really just accumulates all the good times, bad times.

We basically just get to celebrate all the time we spent together and on this field and just interlock a happy memory.

- [Michael] Kenzie?

- I was just saying when we got here on the way driving, like, I felt like it was me freshman year coming to do this for the seniors.

And it just went by so fast.

So I think since this might be our last game on our home field to just enjoy it and make the best of the game.

- [Michael] Excellent.

Brianna?

- I feel like this is kind of the end of an era for us.

Like, a lot of us will play travel, and we're probably never gonna play on this field ever again after today.

So it's sad, but it's kind of refreshing to know that there's more coming.

- Excellent.

You know these days are tough for us as coaches because, you know, we say farewell to our seniors and we wish them nothing but the best of luck in their futures.

And thank you parents for all of your support over the years, I've had the privilege of watching you guys go from transitioning into high school as kids and leaving as young women and so I'm very proud that I've had the opportunity to coach you guys and I'm gonna miss you guys dearly.

(upbeat music) (calm music) - Hi, I'm Stefanie Blankenship.

I'm the director here at the North Providence Library and I wanted to tell the story of this library and the people who came before me to make it a reality.

I wanted to include the story mostly because this library raised me.

I was here when I was four-years-old, going to story time.

I was here when I was 18-years-old, throughout college, working and I'm back as director now and seeing familiar faces from my entire lifetime being here in the library.

Library kids consist of staff that started here a long time ago and still work at the library to some capacity today.

- It's kind of funny because, you know, we'd be like, "Okay, it's Thursday night, the trustees are coming in."

- Spit and polish the building- - Yeah, polish the building.

And we all had to be all dressed on our best behavior.

And it was like, "Oh wow, they're the trustees.

They're the trustees."

And we had almost had a fear- - Yeah.

- A fear.

(all laughing) And coming back as a trustee, it's kind of funny.

- We just walked past the circulation and nobody even looks up.

Like, Hi!

- I definitely wanted to include our pretty much lifelong librarian, Joseph Uscio.

He retired last September.

He was here for 37 and a half years.

- The favorite part of working at the North Providence Library was the staff, which became an extended family.

And also the patrons who also became, you know, see them every day.

They become part of your life.

If I'm in Stop & Shop, they'll say, "Did my book come in yet?"

So it was amusing.

I was kind of like a celebrity in town.

I'd go places and they' be like, "Hey, you're the guy from the library."

At the time we were in George Street, a good part of the collection wasn't even located at George Street.

It was in, I believe, the town hall or the old town hall.

So owning an item and trying to retrieve it was sometimes a problem.

- What I remember there is using an electric typewriter and actually working on cards, typing title, author, and subject cards for the card catalog that we had on George Street.

- And I also realized that even back in the 1800s when Frank Angell started the library, he realized that librarians do more than just give out books.

They shovel snow, they clean, they sweep, they have to keep the place heated.

So when we're doing that now, we do a lot of things that aren't typical librarian duties.

And to know that our founder was doing the same things just makes me feel a little better and I feel for him.

In March 1870, ground was broken and on July 4th, 1870, the door was opened for the first library.

By the early 1960s, a bigger building was again necessary and in 1962, a new library was built at 9 George Street.

Now the institution had 14,000 volumes and was open 10 hours a week.

Increasing town population demanded another bigger building, which became a reality in 1985.

The building of the former North Providence Arena in 1973 and Super Skates from 1980 until 1981 was acquired and became the current North Providence Union Free Library in 1986 and continues to serve as the library until this day.

We've had a lot of exciting changes here at the library.

We have a lot of new technologies that we've been developing and new services and programs.

As people are coming back to the library, we're recognizing some increasing needs in the town for our patrons and we're really looking for ways to make the library relevant again in people's lives.

(relaxed music) (upbeat poppy music) ♪ All you people ♪ ♪ In the low, low places ♪ - Hi, I'm Greg Lato and I'm excited to share the story of my music career and its origins in North Providence.

♪ And never know which way is home ♪ North Providence always holds a special place in my heart.

You know, that's where it all began.

♪ And listen close, because ♪ I'm a singer songwriter and children's book author and I also write for film, TV and other artists.

I love doing all of that.

Anything I can do in the music field, in songwriting, I really see myself as a songwriter first and love doing that.

I love creating music, love being in the studio.

And originally I went to North Providence High School and class of 1992.

And I was in the drama club, I did various music projects around town and eventually, in my senior year of high school, I put on a concert in front of the school and I was also in the talent shows also, which really boosted my confidence and got me outta my shell.

I went to a movie premier that my song was in and it was going to the premier and, you know, I had family there, it was across the country.

You know, I had to go to LA for a red carpet thing.

And that feeling was like, "Okay, you know, maybe something's happening, you know, where all of the hard work that I put in growing up from very young is starting to materialize in some way."

So I get a lot of satisfaction with hearing my songs, other people do my songs, hearing covers, or when I write a song for somebody else and it's on the radio.

♪ When it's always there to remind us ♪ Here I am in front of Kangaroo's CDs & Tapes.

It's been like 20 years since I've been here and I can't believe I'm here.

I can't believe the store is still here.

It's crazy.

But I'm gonna go inside.

I haven't seen Linda in, like I said, 20 years, so let's go inside and see what happens.

Hi!

- Nice to see you - Nice to see you too.

- How have you been?

- Awesome.

- Great.

- Wow.

This is crazy.

It's been a long time.

- Yes.

- Yeah.

- It's like, I feel like time's never passed.

So people used to play the song in the store and then people would come in and say, "Who is that?"

- [Linda] Right, and sometimes, you know, they didn't know who you were, but they would buy it just because they liked what they were hearing, so... - I think I remember you telling me too, that people would come in looking for it too.

- Right.

Right.

♪ Has a song ♪ - Let's talk inspiration.

You know, have your career as a singer/songwriter, you've just, you're tremendously talented.

How did you transition into the world of being an author?

- Well, the kids.

That's what did it.

So, I mean, I would read to them every night, I still do.

And I was reading a particular book and it read like a song and it just, light bulb popped into my head and I immediately went to my home studio and put something together.

And also I do follow them around the house with a guitar and make up funny songs to things they do.

- (laughing) I love this.

- Like, if they can't find their sock, I wrote a song, I Can't Find My Sock.

♪ 'Cause I can't find my sock ♪ So I have a children, another, my second children's book that's going to be released soon.

And that also has a song with it.

And I am finishing up my second children's music album.

I really found a groove with the children's music.

So I just can't wait to get it out there.

And then she would tell me- It was a really great experience.

Like I said, taking a trip down memory lane and going back to the roots of, you know, where things began, kind of puts things in perspective, you know, where I'm at now.

And, you know, it kind of gives you a deeper appreciation for where it started and where it is now.

And it's always great to have that moment to look back and to reflect on your past and, you know, just move forward, keep moving forward.

(upbeat poppy music) (jaunty music) - Italian American Gustavo Costanzo immigrated to Rhode Island and started a legacy in 1909 by purchasing a pool and liquor license from the City of Providence, Rhode Island.

Years later, he and his son, Anthony Costanzo Sr. would persevere with the business through prohibition and the Great Depression with Italian genius and the eventual use of an underground speakeasy.

In 1982, Phyllis and Anthony Costanzo Jr. incorporated Rhode Island Billiard, Bar & Bistro when pool was making its resurgence into American culture.

That is when Anthony Costanzo Jr. moved the family business from the original Providence location to the North Providence location.

Fighting recession, gas crunches, and the Rhode Island credit union crisis.

I am fourth generation proprietor, Anthony Costanzo III.

We've improved the facility in North Providence, built new bars, remodeled the kitchen, all before COVID hit.

And now we strive through, like all Rhode Islanders, and we will make it.

This venue in North Providence is the only real billiard and pool hall left in Rhode Island with a true 10' billiard table, elegant surroundings, from antique tin ceilings to an extensive collection of artwork relevant to all that is pool in Rhode Island.

Regardless of where we came from, for many in America, our immigrant origins remain a vital part of who we are.

Likewise, our successes, our legacy of immigrant hopes and values handed down from proceeding generations.

In celebration of the family values and work ethic that seems common to the immigrant experience, I'm sharing with you, the warm memories of my own roots in hopes they kindle similar recollections of yours because these reflections of an earlier time serve to remind us to reach for excellence in all that we do.

(jaunty music) (gentle music) - [Sister] The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary at Fruit Hill.

We sisters, Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, first arrived in North Providence in 1917, living in a house on Olney Avenue.

Three years later, we moved to the William Angell homestead at 399 Fruit Hill Avenue.

The sisters labored hard to keep up the spacious grounds, the fruit orchards and vegetable gardens.

A beautiful grotto was carved into the natural stone where persons came to pray and spend quiet time in reflection.

Our devoted and talented chaplain, Father Thomas Cullen, established a printing press which produced a variety of publications.

In the course of the years, the sisters, many of them returned missionaries, found innovative ways to serve our neighbors.

Sister Joel Zarotiadou had a flourishing art studio with some very talented students.

In 1973, a section of the building saw the inauguration of the Fruit Hill Daycare Center for the Elderly.

This was the first of its kind in the state, administered under the direction of Sister Ruth Crawley and won the support of Mayor Mancini.

It was a boon for the elderly living alone and it functioned for 45 years.

Another innovative program called the Freewheelers started in the early '90s when Sister Claudette Simard and her staff of volunteers organized outings for seniors in nursing homes and high rises.

Over 2,500 elderly and handicapped persons were able to enjoy visits to parks, restaurants, and other recreational facilities.

Now in 2022, most of our volunteer services have come to a halt due to the current pandemic, but we continue to have a vibrant prayer ministry responding to prayer requests and telephone contacts.

Years ago, our grounds were alive with garden and bazaar parties that attracted hundreds of friends.

Now the sisters are older, but we continue to be interested in our neighborhood, in the care of the environment and in fostering Franciscan peace around us.

(gentle music) (upbeat music) - Hi, I'm Ruth Bucci.

I'm here to tell my story about North Providence history walks, Centredale and Lymansville.

North Providence is my hometown.

I grew up near North Providence High School, and now I live in the Lymansville section of North Providence.

From 1972 to 2000, I was a history teacher at North Providence High School.

I volunteered my time and my resources to do something for North Providence that could benefit not just myself, but others, and history came to mind.

And since I love to be outdoors, I combined history and walking.

I planned several history walks in North Providence.

I focused first on Centredale.

The first Centredale history walk was in 2017 and it was repeated and modified from time to time over the next few years.

In 2021, the North Providence Breeze published an article about my history walks, which are self-guided experiences.

Each walk begins at the EA Ricci school on Intervale Avenue.

Walkers can choose various routes and appreciate the historic Lymansville Village.

They can connect the present with the past, enjoy the trees, the flowers, bushes, brooks, birds, and wild turkeys.

They can relate the street names to history and picture the Woonasquatucket River, which is the place where the salt water ends.

I think it does keep history alive.

It makes me feel good to know the history and to share it.

(jaunty accordion music) - My name is Deborah Plante Imondi, and this property is very important to me.

Not only is it where I go to church now and have been, received all my sacraments from when I was born, but it's also the place where my grandfather built a home, which his children were raised in.

As you can see, the house is no longer here, but it was moved so that the Church of the Presentation could build their third church.

So a little bit of history.

This part of North Providence is called Marieville and it was named after Marieville in St. Hilaire, Quebec province in Canada.

On my paternal side, both great grandfathers had come from Marieville, Canada and founded Marieville, North Providence.

So I have relatives on both the Grullon side and the Plante side that were instrumental in founding this church.

I went to the Catholic school here as did my father and his brothers and sisters.

In fact, they didn't even know how to speak English until they went to grammar school here.

So one of the things that I've done is I've planted bulbs all around the church.

I saved the plants from Easter and let everything foliage die down and then planted them in the fall.

So I've been rewarded with nice flowers all around this spring.

Does my heart good to do that.

So lots of history, lots of pride, lots of family memories accompany me every time I come here.

(jaunty accordion music) (gentle classical music) - Hi, I'm Susan Gale.

Manager of marketing and communications for St. Mary's Home for Children.

And here are the stories that I found in looking into the 145-year history of this mental health agency.

- St. Mary's started or had its roots in East Providence back in 1877.

I'm guessing that there was a similar pandemic going on at the time and women started dropping off children and babies on the porch of the Episcopal minister in East Providence and this continued until he couldn't take care of any more and he bought a house and they started St. Mary's Orphanage in East Providence.

So along about 1926, the people running the orphanage in East Providence thought something wasn't quite right about living in the city anymore and were fortunate enough to be given land in North Providence.

I think St Mary's has been blessed to be in North Providence.

We've been accepted from day one.

It started in East Providence as an orphanage and have moved here as an orphanage, but eventually changed its name because kids were not really orphans anymore.

They had family somewhere and many of the children who lived here were here because parents couldn't afford to keep them at home.

- Looking through the old photos is really amazing because it shows just how much has changed over time.

Looking at early photos of the children that were served, and they're all very dressed up.

Some of the staff and even some of the children are smoking in the pictures and the early days.

And you can really see how mental health work has changed over the years and how it went from more of a group home into more of a therapy and residential type work that is helping children to deal with their trauma.

My favorite part of working there is the children.

You know, they come in with horrible traumas.

Some of them have psychiatric illnesses.

They're facing a lot for children and every one of them shows so much potential.

And every one of them has such wonderful personalities and really wants to work through what they have to work through and be able to grow up happy and healthy.

And the children are just what keep me going and what I think keep a lot of the staff at St. Mary's going, is seeing how hard they work, even though they've been through such horrible things.

(gentle classical music) (bright music) - Hi, my name's Keir O'Donnell and I'm very excited to tell you all about The Fogarty Center.

- In 1952, John Fogarty, John E. Fogarty, and Jay Arthur Trudeau were looking at different services in the state.

There was no services for people with disabilities in the state and Jay Arthur Trudeau had a child with a disability.

John Fogarty was a representative and in '52, John E. Fogarty started the first services in Rhode Island.

So this is our 70th year anniversary.

So we are the oldest and the largest, and it's quite a privilege to at least have my small opportunity to do this.

So we started with some day services in North Providence and has expanded to where we are today.

(bright music continues) - [Johanna] We empower people with intellectual and developmental disabilities with access and specialized supports to improve the quality of their lives.

- As our evolution of Fogarty has evolved, traditionally, we were a what we call a congregants care setting where folks would come to us and they spend most of the days here and folks liked that.

But the evolution of that now is really employment focused.

And a lot of our focus today is on getting real jobs for folks.

(bright music continues) - We Share Hope is helping to tackle the problem of food insecurity in Rhode Island.

We do that by rescuing food that otherwise is going to go to waste, and we're putting it on the dinner tables of Rhode Islanders who are facing food insecurity.

We wouldn't be able to do what we do without the help of volunteers and the Fogarty Center to actually go out into the field as our road warriors and pick up those donations.

Once they pick those donations up and drop them off here at We Share Hope, we share them with the communities who are most in need.

(upbeat music) - Hi, my name is Domenic Intrieri, and this is the story that I filmed with the North Providence Mayor's Youth Commission.

So within the community of North Providence, we work directly with the youth and mainly from 14 to 18 within the high school.

So what we do is we run some town events, we provide a safe space for teenagers, and we also reach out to community service organizations.

In our youth commission we have Danielle and Jeannie, they work really hard to make sure that we have all the resources we need to be productive and effective in creating a youth group.

- Since I was involved, over 10 years, it has grown from 10 kids to as many as 50.

I've learned throughout the years, that if you give teenagers a voice and you give them the ability to give back to the community, they will come out in droves to do so.

(upbeat music continues) - So what I wanna do is kinda have them come in and- - I can tell you all of the community events, whether it be Pumpkins in the Park, our Easter celebration.

Now, in the last couple years, music and movies in our park, our 4th of July firework celebration, Christmas tree lighting and as you saw, Pumpkins in the Park.

Please believe me, this would not be possible or could not have been possible without the help of the Youth Commissioners over the years.

You helped make us who we are.

- So this was my first year joining the North Providence Mayor's Youth Commission and I can easily say I was able to make so many connections and experience so many different events and behind the scenes work in this town that has honestly been so fulfilling for me.

I was able to learn a lot of new things about myself and just really kind of grow into this person that I really liked through high school.

It's just meeting people and finding mentors that I just love to death.

- My first meeting, I remember, distinctively, going in and we had an icebreaker, which is called one minute drills which we still use today, where someone gets to speak for one minute about a random topic or a topic that's been assigned to them and I refused because I did not want to speak in front of a large amount of people that I did not know.

(crowd chuckling) So obviously, today that has changed very drastically, that is another big reason why I always try to reach out to people and tell them about how this Youth Commission is such a great opportunity.

How it is something so different from a sport or a school club and it really brings out your true self.

(upbeat music continues) - We've had a lot of people in the town, people and the government come and say stuff to us and thank us for everything we've done in our community and that's something really special and really cool.

And being able to put that out into the world is such a great opportunity that we want to share that with everyone.

(upbeat music) (somber music) - My name is Carol Corcelli and my daughter is Isabella Dora Corcelli and I launched a memorial fund in her name, the Isabella Dora Corcelli Memorial Fund in collaboration with CharterCARE Foundation.

(somber music continues) Every day, every minute, right now I'm thinking of Isabella wearing her necklace, it's a pocketbook.

When you lose a child, it's a piece of your heart is just gone.

You cry every day, a little bit, but then you carry on because you have sons and you have a job and you have to keep it together.

And you find strength from family and from your faith and life is never the same.

Your perspective changes.

Hi, let me tell you about Isabella Corcelli's story.

She was a middle child.

She had an older brother, Mike and a younger brother, Joe.

They were so close in age, in fact, they always constantly played together.

It was like having triplets, Isabella then entered North Providence High School with Hannah and Kara and she quickly embraced everything that it had to offer.

Honors classes, lacrosse, dance team, student council, National Arts Society and she even had a part-time job.

So actually her dad and I crafted a saying for her, "Because I can."

That way she embraced all the challenges that was brought before her.

And she actually lived by that motto.

Toward the end of her junior year, she's experiencing pain on her left side and after a series of doctor's appointments and tests, it was concluded that there was a tumor and that tumor was diagnosed as synovial cell sarcoma.

Her dad found a beautiful wig for her.

And that was actually a blessing because hair loss at 17 is just very difficult to get through.

To see your hair on your pillow and hair in the sink, you can't even imagine or describe how that feels, but she powered through and she wore that wig proudly.

Cancer was not going to define her.

So off to UNH she went to study pre-med and of course she embraced everything that UNH offered.

It was a great year.

However, the following spring cancer returned and so would she, back to Rhode Island.

More chemo, more radiation.

I would say over the course of her four-year cancer journey, we had nine surgeries and procedures.

However, she was eligible for Make-A-Wish because she was diagnosed at 17.

Her Make-A-Wish was to dance with Tony Dovolani from "Dancing With The Stars" at his studio in SoHo.

Lunch at Serendipity and "The Jimmy Fallon Show."

Sadly, she passed in 2016.

So, you know, after Isabella died, it took quite a few years and I wanted to establish a fund for young women, 18 to 25.

And I really didn't know how to go about it.

I did some research and I didn't really wanna go out of state, out of Boston, I didn't wanna go to a big city.

- And you didn't have to.

We were right here the whole time, and I'm so glad you found us and we were able to help launch this fund in memory of Isabella.

I'm just so happy that you chose us to partner with you on this wonderful initiative.

I'm really pleased and honored that you did that.

So the genesis of the CharterCARE Foundation's Isabella Corcelli Fund is to provide a quality of life enhancement for those young women undergoing cancer treatments.

And that could mean a wig, a recliner, a laptop, a day at the spa, anything to help these young women while they're going through a difficult journey.

- I wish she was here to tell the story, but as her mom and witnessing what she went through, I have the ability to tell the story and I wanna share that story with everyone who was involved in our community to know that what she struggled with, you can give back.

You can make a positive impact in someone's life.

So by creating this memorial fund, hope to help any 18 to 25-year-old young girl going through any cancer therapy right now.

Isabella was my princess warrior.

She was tenacious.

She was stoic, but she was giddy.

She was loyal.

She was silly.

She was a great friend.

As a mom and as a caregiver witnessing this devastating disease, I want to sprinkle little sunshine on someone's journey.

(somber music) (cheerful relaxed music) (cheerful relaxed music continues) (cheerful relaxed music continues) (cheerful relaxed music continues) (cheerful relaxed music continues) (cheerful relaxed music continues) (cheerful relaxed music continues)