Summer Rewind 2024
Authored by Danielle Bender and Wole Akinbi
Pop quiz! What does the name “half full” mean?
If you said “the ‘half’ is about being for profit and the ‘full’ is about giving back”, you win . . . well, nothing, really. But we are super impressed!
This is the way we try to describe what makes us just a little different. Sometimes people mistake us for a non-profit. Not true. We do, however, subscribe to a “do good” business model. Woven throughout this business model are our core values. And this one, “to always have the means to give”, really shines in the summer.
Half full Founder, Rebecca Twitchell, and Community Liaison, Wole Akinbi, both had transformative experiences as teenagers at camp. No, they weren’t at the same camp. (Wole, won’t hesitate to remind us all that they are “different generations” SMH). But they did grow up in the same neighborhood and, with the shared impact of their experiences at camp, our particular recipe for doing good was born.
Each summer, things get very busy around here on the give back side of things. The Smith Hill Block Party and the Youth Forward are each yearly events that we are proud to sponsor and/or support.
Smith Hill Block Party
The 2024 Smith Hill Block Party took place on Wednesday August 14th on Candace Street. This year we had over 70 vendors including five restaurants and three retail vendor tables. In total, over 1,500 food items were given away to our attendees! With so many families and individuals coming and going over the course of the event it is hard to get a definite count, but we can safely estimate close to 1,000 people in attendance. We had several political dignitaries who attended as well including Mayor Brett Smiley, Ward 12 Councilwoman Althea Graves and Senator Jake Bissaillon just to name a few.
Several vendors reported to block party staff that they were able to talk with the most families at a single event they’ve attended for the season! We take pride in holding a space as a block party committee to assist with that kind of impact!
Special thanks to these amazing sponsors and supporters!
Smith Hill Library Friends
Smith Hill Advocacy & Resource Partnerships (SHARP)
Smith Hill Partners' Initiative (SHPI)
Community Libraries of Providence (Smith Hill Branch)
Providence College
Bodega on Smith
Paris Bistro
Baba's NY System
Councilwoman Althea Graves & Ward 12 Committee
We will make sure the 2025 event will be even bigger!
youth forward
We received a record number of applications for the 2024 Youth Forward and 17 students were able to attend. We spent four days and three nights at Camp Aldersgate in North Scituate, RI. During the event, students had the opportunity to participate in 15 different workshops with topics ranging from personal strengths to nonviolence conflict resolution to healthy living, to name a few. Guest presenters from community partners such as The Fitness Sanctuary, City of Providence Recreation, Brown University, CCRI, Providence College and the R.I. Student Assistance Services (RISAS) all contributed to delivering valuable information to the attendees. Fun and engaging energizers as well as swimming in the lake all made for an enjoyable and memorable experience.
Special thanks to these amazing supporters and sponsors!
Fitness Sanctuary
Community College of Rhode Island
Providence College
Brown University
Providence Department of Recreation
R.I. Student Assistance Services (RISAS)
YES PVD (Turn Up RI)
Thanks to the half full staff, two half full friends of the business and our awesome 2023 Youth Forward alum, Bella, for committing to the success of this Youth Forward. An extra special thank you to Derryn Jenkins, the winner of the 2024 half full art contest. Her design for the t-shirts was amazing!
The dates for the 2025 Youth Forward have already been locked in and we can’t wait for next summer! The Youth Forwards are a sizeable investment (around 10K) per year. We know these kids are worth it and we thank you for helping to make it possible!
Photo credit: Justin Case
Two more of our values come to the fore with these events.
“We are grateful”
Grateful to our clients who make it possible for us to
“always have the means to give”