Episodios

  • Community Matters with Scott Cordischi featuring Funda Fest 28 with Valerie Tutson 1-10-26

    Community Matters with Scott Cordischi featuring Funda Fest 28 with Valerie Tutson 1-10-26
    Jan 10 2026
    Learning is fun and It's a belief that to keep the mind, body and soul active in all stages of our lives, learning is key. Funda Fest (fundafest.org), now in their 28th season, returns with their celebration of performance art, January 13th-25th, the week of the Martin Luther King Holiday. Valerie Tutson, Teller and Executive/Festival Director, joins us with details.This year’s Funda theme is “Drumming Up Freedom”! Over 25 performers from around the world join Valerie Tutson, Len Cabral and other talented performers from the Rhode Island Black Storytellers (RIBS) for “A Celebration of Black Storytelling”. “Experience the talents of performers from the African Diaspora, artists from the US, the UK, the Caribbean, and the African Continent”. Listen as Valerie describes the beginnings, including how the name Funda Fest came to fruition and the literal meaning. She explains there will be an event to celebrate a founding member at the CCRI Providence Liston Campus January 24th, “Remembering Michael Van Leesten: “Mike Tales” (A Tribute to Michael Van Leesten)”. There'll be music, storytelling, spoken word and more with certain performances that come with a bonus recording to enjoy again and again. RIBS is available year round with storytelling packages for schools, churches, organizations, businesses and libraries. So, join the fun! Scott joined last year at Funda Fest 27, as a judge for the Liar’s Contest event. You can hear his enjoyment as he describes the experience, will he repeat?
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    24 m
  • Community Matters with Scott Cordischi featuring Women's Fund of RI with Kelly Nevins 01-03-26

    Community Matters with Scott Cordischi featuring Women's Fund of RI with Kelly Nevins 01-03-26
    Jan 3 2026
    We welcome 2026 with the Women's Fund of Rhode Island (wfri.org) and CEO Kelly Nevins. She joins us to reveal the work being done to advance equity among the gender divide in RI. The goal of WFRI is to “close the gender wage, wealth, health, and power gaps that exist so everyone can not only survive, but thrive”. Listen as Kelly details the programs and initiatives they've undertaken in this, their 25th year of service. In addition to their 25th anniversary, she notes the launch of a RI Girls Coalition, a Digital Literacy & Mental Health Retreat for Girls, work on a RI Voter Rights Act, and a Gubernatorial Forum with candidates for Governor, as we head to the voting booth for the midterms in November. Did you know, WFRI welcomes men as allies in the fight for equity? “One Hundred Men for Gender Equity” exists within WFRI for men to participate in the movement. Check the website for WFRI events in 2026. The discussion starts January 12th with the FAB (Feminist Activist Book) Club in addition to events throughout the year, leading up to September 23rd with WFRI's annual gala “Women Leading Change”.
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    16 m
  • Community Matters with Scott Cordischi featuring A Wish Come True 22nd Polar Plunge with Mary-Kate O'Leary 12-27-25

    Community Matters with Scott Cordischi featuring A Wish Come True 22nd Polar Plunge with Mary-Kate O'Leary 12-27-25
    Dec 27 2025
    Give back, feel good and make it a movement on New Years Day 2026, take the plunge! A Wish Come True (AWCT) and hundreds of brave souls will be jumping in the Atlantic Ocean at Easton’s Beach in Newport RI at high noon, for the 22nd annual Polar Plunge. Mary-Kate O’Leary, MA Executive Director at A Wish Come True (awish.org) joins us for the details. She's geared up for the plunge, and preparing her costume. It's all to benefit kids who are living with a life threatening illness. To date, AWCT has granted 1900 wishes to “kiddos” from Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut who have a wish for a special experience. Listen as Mary-Kate reveals the various, most requested wishes. She highlights Wish kiddo Nicholas, who requested a Celtics experience. Great sponsors help to make these experiences happen and the Celtics have participated continuously in the past. Will Jayson Tatum or Johnston's own Coach Joe Mazzulla be present for Nicholas? Mary-Kate also describes the other fundraising events, if you prefer to stay dry. It's gala year! The “Wishes Take Flight Gala” will honor Colleen and Frank Duffy who created the Meghan K. Duffy Memorial Hardship Fund, assisting Wish families financially. “Shamrocks and Shenanigans” as well as the AWCT “Spring Golf Classic” will be fun event opportunities to raise funds or volunteer your time. To put in perspective, jumping in the ocean in January may be uncomfortable, however minimal compared to the treatments these kiddos go through for their illness.
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    17 m
  • Community Matters with Scott Cordischi featuring Plunge for Pete 2025 with the Pete Frates Foundation 12-20-25

    Community Matters with Scott Cordischi featuring Plunge for Pete 2025 with the Pete Frates Foundation 12-20-25
    Dec 20 2025
    Get out of your comfort zone and get silly for a good cause. The Pete Frates Foundation (petefrates.com) invites you to join the ALS community to “Plunge 4 Pete:Freezin for a Reason” (plunge4pete.com) on December 27th at Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester Massachusetts. If you're unable to get to the beach, you can plunge remotely! Mike Pitt, Executive Director of The Pete Frates Foundation, joins us for the many ways you can contribute to the cause. It all started with Pete Frates and Pat Quinn in 2014 when they created the Ice Bucket Challenge, with the goal of raising funds for research for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. To date, the challenge has raised $220 million for researching this disease which has no cure. The Pete Frates Foundation was created in 2020 by Petes parents in his memory, after his passing from ALS in 2019. Mike Pitt details the support the foundation provides to ALS patients and their loved ones. They're happy being a conduit to help with ALS resources including financial assistance to help with home health care assistance. They also provide many volunteer opportunities if you have the time, or if you don't have the time, donations are always welcome. Listen as Mike describes his personal connection to Pete, his “brother from another mother” and reveals how his father also battled a similar condition. As the holidays are upon us, you can find a way to give with 2X the impact, with a purchase on the foundation’s online store.
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    16 m
  • Community Matters with Scott Cordischi featuring World War II Foundation and International Museum of World War II with Tim Gray 12-13-25.

    Community Matters with Scott Cordischi featuring World War II Foundation and International Museum of World War II with Tim Gray 12-13-25.
    Dec 13 2025
    It's a short drive to South County RI where the World War II Foundation and International Museum of World War II (https://wwiifoundation.org/), a “National Geographic Top Ten World War II Museums in the World to Visit” is found on Main Street in Wakefield. There you'll meet Tim Gray, President, Founder & Documentary Filmmaker. He joins us with an update on how the foundation is busy recreating and preserving the history of battlefield wars. The World War II Foundation tells the personal stories of the World War II generation through documentary films, shot on location in Europe and the Pacific. A sobering reality, only 43 thousand Veterans remain, of 16 million WWII Veterans enlisted. To date, 42 documentary films on World War II with narrators including Bill Belichick, Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, Dan Aykroyd, Gary Sinise, Liev Schreiber, Tim McCarver, Jane Lynch, Jim Nantz, and many others. Listen as Tim recalls filming, “A Promise To My Father” the story of Holocaust Survivor Israel (Izzy) Arbeiter as he returns to Auschwitz, “reliving the most horrific moments of his life with vivid detail, seventy years later”. The International Museum of WWII (https://wwiifoundation.org/museum/), a tactile museum, curates tangible objects you can touch.“The most comprehensive World War II collection on display anywhere in the country.” On display, items from a soldier's deployment. In person you can try on a helmet or touch a weapon, feel the weight of the gear carried into battle. Best bet before you visit, take the Virtual-visit tour to see the magnitude of the collection spanning all conflicts, and all sides. The WWII Foundation is filling the void where the Department of Education has dropped the curriculum, offering educators an opportunity to teach the subject of World War II. Like various school systems this holiday season, The World War II Foundation is a partner with “Wreaths Across America”, teaching the next generation the value of freedom. On a lighter note, Tim reveals the connection between himself at the age of 10, and Edward R. Murrow.
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    18 m
  • Community Matters with Scott Cordischi featuring Junior Achievement RI with Cassi Steenblok 11-29-25

    Community Matters with Scott Cordischi featuring Junior Achievement RI with Cassi Steenblok 11-29-25
    Nov 29 2025
    It's all about the students and preparing them for success in their lives and careers, as they become adults in the workforce. Junior Achievement Rhode Island (jari.org) has been a key component in that effort since 1922, after the national Junior Achievement organization came on the scene in 1919. Cassi Steenblok, Director of Development joins the program for the latest happenings. She explains that the most under served segment of the student population in the Ocean State get the benefit of learning skills ranging from running a business to the latest in artificial intelligence (AI). In the 2024-2025 school year, they “reached nearly 12,000 students in 75 schools in 22 different districts”. A peek behind the curtain occurs on December 9th through December 11th at JA Inspire career fair in Providence, when students can get hands-on experience. “JA Inspire is a coalition of educators and industry leaders, led by Junior Achievement of Rhode Island. At the center of our work is a powerful career exploration fair where 5,000 8th graders from around the state visit the Rhode Island Convention Center to learn from 90 exhibitors representing high-growth, high-demand careers here in Rhode Island”. The best part, all the programs JARI provides are FREE! You can imagine fundraising is key to continuing to provide this successful school centric programming. Volunteers and donations from businesses and individuals are welcome and “Giving Tuesday” is a great time to get on board.
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    13 m
  • Community Matters with Scott Cordischi featuring RI Community Food Bank with Melissa Cherney 11-22-25

    Community Matters with Scott Cordischi featuring RI Community Food Bank with Melissa Cherney 11-22-25
    Nov 22 2025
    “If you've seen one food bank, you've seen one food bank” Melissa Cherney, CEO Rhode Island Community Food Bank (rifoodbank.org) attests in her eighteen years of service feeding the community. Melissa joins us as a North Dakota transplant, at a time of unprecedented need with food insecurity. The RI Community Food Bank (RICFB) has been in crisis mode since November 1st with the government shutdown, affecting 143,000 of our neighbors and increasing their workload overnight. The need is compounded by the impending holiday season. They're community focused at RICFB with the vast programming they provide. Did you know that they have a kitchen? They even test recipes and feed hot meals to approximately five hundred kids after school, and the kids pick the menu! Melissa also reveals that with 137 food sites statewide, you can either get help or contribute in your vicinity. Anyone can be part of the solution, “give food, give funds”. She recounts the recent generosity displayed by RI residents. We have a lighter moment comparing winter weather from North Dakota to RI, and Melissa describes her “Beverly Hillbillies” transplant experience from North Dakota, “loaded up my golden retrievers and moved to…”
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    16 m
  • Community Matters with Scott Cordischi featuring RI Coat Exchange Buy Nothing Day with Lauren Testoni 11-15-25

    Community Matters with Scott Cordischi featuring RI Coat Exchange Buy Nothing Day with Lauren Testoni 11-15-25
    Nov 15 2025
    Black Friday? Flip the script on November 28th and Buy Nothing! You can give the gift of warmth instead. Join us on the lawn at the Rhode Island State House in Providence on Black Friday (9am-1pm) to kick off the season of giving with RI Coat Exchange (ricoatexchange.org), for their annual Buy Nothing Day Coat Exchange. Lauren Testoni joins us for the details on this community effort to provide free coats, hats, gloves and scarves to those in need, from toddlers to adults. Listen as she describes what's necessary to successfully complete this effort reaching thousands of people. It takes a community of family, friends and even businesses to combine resources in a short timeline. The website is where you can find out how you can contribute. If you miss this November effort, you can begin 2026 with their “Spare a Pair” annual sock and underwear drive. Lauren also reveals the loss of key community member Ruth Ann “Diamond” Madsen. After the Black Friday event, any remaining items will be donated in Diamond's honor to the Mathewson Strèet Church in Providence, where they will also be distributed.
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    13 m
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