There are moments with children that stay with you.

What if Every Child in Newport Grew up Believing

There are moments with children that stay with you.

Today one of our community members congratulated Ellen Pinnock, FabNewport’s Director of Community Engagement and Equity, on graduating from college. A second grader named Sarah overheard the conversation and looked at Ellen in complete shock.

“Ms. Ellen,” she said, “you been a college student this WHOLE TIME?”

Ellen laughed and told her yes.

Sarah stared for a second and replied, “But you’re here every day.”

And Ellen told her, “That’s because you’re important.”

A few minutes later Sarah shared that she wanted to go to college and become an artist so she could draw anime. Then she paused and quietly added:

“Well… I’ll go as long as it’s not a hundred dollars.”

That part sat heavy.

Sarah is eight years old. She should be able to dream out loud without already worrying about whether she can afford the dream. She should be thinking about colors and characters and sketchbooks — not cost.

Sarah comes from a home with a single parent and three younger siblings. And still, there she was imagining a future for herself.

Kids notice everything.

They notice who shows up.
They notice what feels possible.
They notice whether adults believe in them.

And sometimes the smallest conversations reveal just how early children begin carrying the weight of the world.

This same week, Rhode Island KIDS COUNT released new data showing Newport now has the second-highest child poverty rate in Rhode Island. Nearly one in three Newport children are growing up in poverty. Chronic absenteeism remains among the highest in the state. Too many young people are struggling academically, emotionally, and economically while trying to imagine a future for themselves.

Behind every statistic is a child like Sarah.

And yet this week also reminded us what is possible when a community rallies around children.

At Pell Elementary’s Bike to School Day, many children from Newport’s North End did not have bicycles, so community members stepped in. Bike Newport helped provide bikes. Police officers, parents, educators, and neighbors lined the route cheering kids on, handing out stickers, celebrating them as they arrived sweaty, smiling, and proud.

Staff shared it was the largest turnout they had ever seen.

It was more than a bike ride.

It was belonging.
It was joy.
It was children feeling seen.

Moments like these remind us that schools cannot do this work alone.

Children thrive when entire communities organize themselves around their wellbeing. They thrive when they have trusted adults, safe places, meaningful opportunities, joyful experiences, and time doing things they genuinely love.

At FabNewport, we believe every child deserves at least 100+ hours each year doing something they choose and care deeply about alongside peers and adults who encourage them — whether that’s biking, art, cooking, surfing, design, sailing, music, golf, or simply being part of something where they feel known.

What would happen if Newport truly rallied around that idea?

What if we treated belonging, engagement, mentorship, wellness, and opportunity with the same seriousness as test scores and attendance rates?

What if every child in Newport grew up believing, “There are adults here who see me. There is a place for me. My future matters.”

These are all of our kids.

With gratitude,

Steve/Ellen/Chris/Samantha

“The jobs of the future are not always jobs you simply apply for. They’re often paths you learn to recognize, shape, and sometimes create for yourself,” Chris Gross, FabNewport Impact Officer and lead Navigator Coach. “We’re not trying to prepare kids for one specific job. We’re trying to help them understand themselves well enough to build a future that actually fits who they are.”

Navigators in Training

“I remember my first summer with Fab as the best summer of my life when I got to do everything from surfing to going to the car museum. The reason I want to be a Navigator is because it will be my first job and I would love to learn and actually work with kids.”

That reflection captures something powerful about the FabNewport Navigator Program.

Becoming a Navigator is not simply getting a summer job. It is the moment when they begin to see themselves differently — not just as participants, but as leaders, mentors, teammates, and role models for younger children coming behind them.

And right now, Navigator Training is underway.

Over the past few weeks, teens have been gathering after school on Mondays and Tuesdays preparing for the responsibility of leading younger learners this summer. They are learning what it means to show up for a team, communicate well, solve problems, lead activities, and create spaces where younger children feel safe, seen, and included.

In 2025, the Navigator Program was honored with the Youth Organization Impact of the Year Award from the Governor’s Workforce Board because of the way it helps young people grow into responsibility, confidence, and community leadership.

What makes the program especially meaningful is that almost all of our Navigators started as campers themselves.

They spent years biking, surfing, hiking, cooking, making art, building friendships, taking risks, and learning alongside trusted adults and older teens they admired. Over time, many begin to imagine themselves in that role too.

Our Navigators have been part of FabNewport as campers or leaders for an average of more than four years.

To earn the opportunity to become a Navigator, teens apply and participate in an eight week spring training program where they learn what it means to be part of a team and responsible for younger learners. During training they:

• Complete CPR certification
• Take the CliftonStrengths assessment
• Practice teamwork and communication
• Learn leadership and mentorship skills
• Understand the expectations of our “Heart Contract”
• Develop workplace habits around accountability, initiative, and collaboration

By summer, they are working alongside adult team leaders and college assistants helping guide younger campers through meaningful experiences across Newport County.

For many, it is their first real job.

But what matters most is what they carry with them from the experience.

One Navigator reflected:

“These have been the best few summers I’ve experienced. I begged my mom not to send me the first year, but I’m SO glad she did. For once I felt myself around people I had just met. FabNewport isn’t just a program to me anymore. The people I’ve met here make me feel like family.”

Another shared:

“Fab to me is a place of belonging, to be yourself without judgment, and create anything your imagination can think of.”

And perhaps the best advice came from a young leader speaking directly to the next generation of campers:

“Be yourself. Give it a shot. Make mistakes. Make friends. Try something new. Learn.”

At a time when many young people are struggling with isolation, anxiety, and disconnection, our Navigators are developing confidence through relationships, meaningful responsibility, and real-world experiences.

And younger campers are watching them closely. Just as they once watched the Navigators before them. Thank you for believing in young people and helping create opportunities like this.

With gratitude,

Steve and the FabNewport Team

From Newport to Tacoma: Expanding What’s Possible

This spring, FabNewport mentor Kalei Delovio traveled with learners Bee and Gionna Michel to Education Reimagined’s Learning Lab ecosystem gathering in Tacoma, Washington — an experience designed not only to explore innovative schools, but to expand horizons and deepen the girls’ positive future visions for education.

Over the course of the trip, the group visited a wide range of learning environments, from nature-based experiences in the Pacific Northwest to a performing arts school unlike anything we currently have in Rhode Island. For Bee and Gionna, the journey offered a chance to see what learning can look like when creativity, community, and student voice are placed at the center.

But perhaps the most meaningful takeaway wasn’t just what they saw — it was realizing that their own voices belonged in the conversation.

“At first, those rooms can feel intimidating,” Kalei reflected. “There were superintendents, veteran educators, and leaders from across the country. But by the second half of the first day, Bee and Gionna were some of the most active voices in the room.”

The experience also strengthened the girls’ friendship and helped them recognize how much they share: a deep care for young people, creativity, and the future of education itself.

Bee later reflected on the experience in an Unrulr post:

“Traveling to Tacoma Washington has been so great!! This whole experience has been so surreal for me and I’m so grateful for this opportunity. This has been my first time ever flying and I’ve learned so much doing it. I’ve always wanted to travel and this has given me great experience doing so. And I’m incredibly grateful to be doing it with the best group ever.”

For Bee, the trip carried another layer of meaning. Having recently been accepted to Western Washington University, the experience reignited her excitement about exploring opportunities beyond Rhode Island and imagining a future connected to education and community building.

Access matters. Sometimes growth begins with simply helping young people see a bigger world — and then helping them realize they belong in it.