Our History

Dorcas Place incorporated in 1981 as a private not-for-profit 501(c)(3) adult literacy and learning center. While we are not a faith-based organization, the organization was founded by Mary Reilly, Sister of Mercy, and Deborah Thompson, Mercy Associate, as part of an urban ministry program in South Providence. Their vision to develop a literacy program for single parents grew out of their work with teen mothers in Providence's inner city.

Dorcas Place was named after a woman in the new testament who dedicated her life to feeding and clothing the poor. Dorcas means "filled with good things", and Place refers to the place within. The founders believed that by nurturing this place within, "Dorcas Place" would enable our students to become powerful changers of their own and their children's lives, and the community in which they live. They were right.

Over the past 20 years, Dorcas Place has sought to advocate for and with low-income parents and other adults in order to expand public and private awareness of, and response to, the needs of this population. Our programs recognize the direct link between illiteracy and the problems of long-term welfare dependency, children growing up in poverty, teenage pregnancy, child abuse and neglect, crime and chronic unemployment.

Deborah Thompson

Co-founder & Co-director
1981 - 1991

Our Founders

Dorcas Place was incorporated in the State of Rhode Island on April 7, 1981.
The following are the visionaries who started it all:

• Mary Reilly, co-founder
• Deborah Thompson, co-founder
• Margaret Deignan
• Elizabeth Fitzgerald
• Barbara Archambault
• Phyllis Araujo
• Ruth LeBlanc
• Mary Ellen McLaughlin

Board Leadership

In recognition and sincere appreciation for their tremendous stewardship over the past twenty-six years: