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The Providence Journal and United Way of Rhode Island have partnered to highlight the state’s nonprofits. Each week, a nonprofit identified by United Way will be spotlighted in the Providence Sunday Journal, and the United Way will share how it supports that organization.
This week, we feature The Womxn Project Education Fund, which “works through three different pillars of activism to protect those whose reproductive rights are in danger, LGBTQIA+ discrimination, and who may not be able to receive the care they desire due to governmental constraints.”
We asked Jocelyn Foye, executive director, to tell us more about the organization.
What is your mission and vision?
Our vision is simple. Everyone has the right to live with bodily freedom. At The Womxn Project (TWP) Education Fund we work for bodily freedom through civic engagement, policy advancement, and art activism or artivism. We take action to secure reproductive freedom, LGBTQ+ rights, and government transparency in Rhode Island. We use artivism to generate conversations and engagement on issues affecting all Rhode Islanders through community, joy and a sense of safety with an empowered voice.
Artivism might be themed community art projects around the state or exhibitions with the artists teaching us their artivism style with a demo in a Makers’ Dates in our new A|R|T Lab space. Sometimes we create spectacles, like projections on public buildings or a hot air balloon on the State House lawn. These draw people in, again offering opportunities for connection and support around issues that affect the day-to-day lives of Rhode Islanders.
How do you measure success?
Success can look as simple as folks showing up to a local TWP event, or as complex as organizing 100 people at the Pride Parade – some carrying 3-foot illuminated “Bodily Freedom” letters, others parading huge Supreme Court Justice caricatures and even one wearing a massive inflatable megaphone.
While we measure the usual hard metrics of engagement, our deeper focus is on cultivating research and artivism skills within the broader community so everyone can see a place for themselves. Research provides an introverted person space to engage, and public artivism or commenting at municipal meetings are places for extroverts. In 2025-26, we’re training 200 artivists, equipping them to serve as mentors to others in their communities. When artivism events take place simultaneously across all 39 cities and towns in Rhode Island next spring, we’ll know this project has achieved real success.
What are your biggest challenges currently?
In yet another period in U.S. history where bodily freedom is under attack in so many ways at so many levels, our biggest challenge is focus. The relentless flood of vitriolic and outrageous rhetoric and more troubling actions virtually demand everyone’s attention and time.
This environment makes it challenging to bring attention to local issues, despite everyone knowing that what happens in local government has a much larger effect on our daily lives and communities.
At TWP we work to highlight local actions, in school committees, in the legislature, the Rhode Island judicial system and in related spheres to advance bodily freedom for all Rhode Islanders.
Getting those same Rhode Islanders to actually engage with the issues requires pulling attention away from the current national crisis and getting them to engage directly with their elected representatives.
How can volunteers or donors get involved?
Getting involved with TWP is easy, and there are many ways to engage. Start by visiting our website for how we do our policy advancement and coalition building at thewomxnproject.org or our art and civic engagement at twpeducationfund.org, where you’ll find links for both donors and volunteers.
The volunteer link leads to a short survey, after which our team will follow up with you. You can also connect through the “Learn More” button on Facebook or profile link on Instagram, and we’re active on all major social media platforms.
We offer opportunities for everyone: for introverts, there are research projects and at-home activities; for extroverts, plenty of chances to join us at community events, school board meetings, or even at the once little-known Judicial Nomination Commission, where Rhode Island’s judges are nominated.
What are some recent accomplishments or projects you’re proud of?
We had a great community art-making event at “Ritual Spaces,” a gallery that generously donated its space to us for a month. Community members learned about artivism and participated, making a piece on what bodily freedom means to them, which then formed a mural. We moved into our first-ever real home and have a great space, the A|R|T Lab (Artivism, Research and Tactics in Community), late this summer.
Our work developing the Bodily Freedom Forever Index (BFFI) was a huge achievement in building greater transparency into local elections, rating all candidates in Rhode Island on where they stand on reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights. We are releasing the next iteration this fall and are gearing up for the 2026 BFFI guide to candidates. Anyone is welcome to help (this is the introverted volunteer work as above!).
For more information about The Womxn Project Education Fund, email operations@thewomxnproject.org.
