April 13, 2007

Julie Pell, Civil Rights Champion, leaves bequest to Equity Action

Historic gift to benefit Rhode Island's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer communities

The late Julie Pell, a founding member of Equity Action, a field of interest fund at The Rhode Island Foundation dedicated to promoting and protecting the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Rhode Islanders, has left the fund its first-ever bequest.

Pell died in April 2006 after a yearlong battle with lung cancer. She was 52. Foundation President and CEO Ronald V. Gallo expressed the organization's gratitude to Pell. "With this bequest, Julie Pell has truly galvanized our efforts to raise additional funds for Equity Action. We are honored to have inspired her trust and intend to continue building this dynamic permanent endowment at the Foundation."

Julie Smith of Newport, Pell's longtime partner and fellow founder of Equity Action, reflected on Pell's gift to the Fund. "Julie was deeply committed to Rhode Island's LGBTQ communities and invested an enormous amount of her time and energy in advancing the cause of equal rights for all citizens in every possible setting. She saw her gift to Equity Action as a way to establish an activist legacy, reflecting her activist life."

Equity Action has granted more than $280,000 to 28 organizations since its inception in 2002.

The fund supports the needs of Rhode Island's LGBTQ citizens at all stages in their lives, including youth, families, and the elderly. Equity Action invests in organizations whose work has an impact on increasing the equitable treatment of all Rhode Islanders regardless of their sexual orientation or expression of their gender identity.

Grants have addressed such critical priorities as expanding access to competent health care, building community cohesiveness, and increasing awareness and visibility of LGBTQ communities.

Specific projects funded have ranged from a survey of LGBT elder needs by Senior Action in a Gay Environment/RI, to Providence Youth Movement's Southeast Asian Queers United for Empowerment & Leadership (seaQUEL) program, which fosters community for this growing population in Rhode Island. Other beneficiaries have included Options Newsmagazine of Rhode Island, the Cranston Public Schools, and AIDs Care Ocean State, as well as the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Comprehensive Community Action Program, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender (GLBT) Helpline of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, the URI Foundation, CCRI, and Brown University.

Pell was a longtime visible and vocal advocate for LGBTQ causes in Rhode Island. A registered lobbyist, she was president of the Rhode Island Alliance for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights and spent considerable time at the State House opposing discrimination against gays on every front, including housing, employment, health care, public accommodations and credit. Pell also served on the boards of the Newport Art Museum, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and the Potter League for Animals.

Pell's family, well-known throughout Rhode Island (Pell was the daughter of beloved Senator Claiborne Pell and Nuala Pell), stated their strong support for Pell's beliefs. "Julie was clear about her intentions," said Christopher "Toby" Pell, brother of the late activist and executor of her estate. "It was important to her that we honor her wishes to continue the essential work of Equity Action long into the future. She was utterly invested in the causes the fund has supported."

"We are grateful to Julie for her final gift to Equity Action," said Peter Hocking, co-chair of the group's advisory council. "Through her philanthropy, we will be able to carry on our fight for equity, fairness, and justice in Rhode Island, even as we remind the entire state of Julie's courage, values, and way in the world."

Sally Ann Hay, Hocking's co-chair, revealed that Equity Action is in the preliminary planning stages of creating a lasting memorial to Pell. "We believe Julie understood exactly what her gift symbolized for Equity Action and for the organizations and individuals who will benefit from her deliberate generosity. This bequest represents an enormous opportunity to advance the causes that Julie would never let us forget."