Riverzedge Arts

Riverzedge Arts is best known for the innovative, afterschool arts and entrepreneurship programs on which we founded the organization in 2002. Today we offer five such studio programs that act as micro-enterprises, employing our youth participants and delivering products and services to a range of clients. We also created a Mobile Studio that travels the region, bringing the Riverzedge Arts experience wherever it is needed. The (US) President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities and the Wallace Foundation hail these programs as a model for success because of the demonstrated transformational impact they have on the lives of our youth participants. Building on this success, Riverzedge Arts created ELO Woonsocket, enabling youth to create “extended learning opportunities” to reclaim lost high school credits and stay on track for graduation. Today, we have two full time staff members integrated into the high school system, and each year they help dozens of youth successfully complete ELO projects. In 2012, we created a local, Woonsocket instance of the Parents Leadership Training Initiative (PLTI), a nationally-recognized program that trains parents to play an active role in all aspects of their public schools.