Last Monday, Providence’s Sustainability Commission welcomed its newest member: Dawn Sumner. A lifelong city resident, Sumner never considered the role community played in her life. But after receiving help during the COVID pandemic, she is ready to give back and leave a positive impact on the world for her grandchildren.
“I’m a huge, huge, huge germaphobe, and I moved during the pandemic of October 2020,” said Sumner, a retired dispatcher for Brown University and Providence police. Relocating from South Elmwood to Washington Park during a pandemic was one of her worst nightmares. “I was petrified. I was crying. I don’t like germs, and I did not want COVID,” she said.
When the South Providence Health Equity Zone visited her new building, Sumner found people who could help soothe her fears and support her community by providing masks, test kits, meals and referrals to social services. These connections inspired her to get out and get involved in community meetings at the Port of Providence, Save the Bay, the Health Equity Zones, the Racial and Environmental Justice Committee, Roots 2 Empower and more.
“The world’s a horrible place. COVID? Horrible. But those people that will help you— I have no choice but to help back,” said Sumner, who is not intimidated by joining the city government for the first time. “I have a loud mouth. I can be opinionated. I’m the one that says things that people won’t.”
At her first meeting since her appointment in July by City Council President Rachel Miller, Sumner was a few minutes late trying to find the conference room tucked out of sight. On City Hall’s third floor, the Commission assumed its role as a community advisory board to Providence’s sustainability and climate initiatives. Members of the commission are appointed by environmental justice and youth organizations, the Environmental Council of Rhode Island, the mayor and the city council.
While her fellow commission members and staff from the city’s Office of Sustainability reviewed renovations at the Olneyville Resilience Hub to eventually add solar panels to the facility, Sumner listened carefully.
She read along with the agenda detailing city lighting audits that will replace fixtures across municipal facilities and are estimated to reduce the government’s overall energy load by 10%. Finally, Sumner nodded her head as the commission discussed distributing funds from the ProvPort Sustainability Reserve Account, an initiative that receives 1% of ProvPort’s annual revenue and funds sustainability projects in wards 10 and 11— which includes Sumner’s neighborhood.
“We know that this will help the community. It’ll help people,” said Sumner, who said she joined the Sustainability Commission because these initiatives will make a positive impact on others, just like others have made a positive impact on her. “With 10 grandchildren, I need to make sure the world is okay and do what grandma can do.”
This story was created in partnership with Journalism New England. The writers are all Providence Eye Community News Fellows and their bios are listed here.
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