August 19, 2012

Providence Fundraisers Fight Yankee Frugality

A Tough Case for Fundraisers in Providence 2

Rick Friedman, for The Chronicle

John Tarantino, a trial lawyer and Providence donor, on the playground of Federal Hill House, a charity that helps immigrants.

By Suzanne Sataline

Providence, R.I.

For 125 years, Federal Hill House Association played a key role in the lives of local immigrants striving to become Americans.

In a neighborhood where Italian families crammed into sagging wood-frame triple-decker houses, the charity helped them land jobs and learn English and whisked their children to Boston Red Sox games.

Last year the nonprofit signed a lease to transform a vacant former Catholic parochial school into an education center. The nonprofit now finds that