‘Always been about possibility’: Viola Davis invests $1.2 million in new community center named after her mother in Rhode Island

The EGOT winner and best-selling author is giving back to the city that helped shape her through her Davis-Tennon Foundation.

Viola Davis has never forgotten where she came from.

Although she was born in South Carolina, Davis grew up in Central Falls, Rhode Island and eventually graduated with a bachelor’s degree in theater from Rhode Island College. In her memoir, she documented various items of her childhood as traumatic, addled by poverty and an unpredictable, erratic home life. Now she and her husband, Julius Tennon, are giving back to her Rhode Island community by investing to create opportunities for the next generation.

Davis and Tennon are investing $1.2 million through their non-profit, the Davis-Tennon Foundation, in a new community center named after Davis’ mother, Mary Alice Davis.

“My mother believed in people, even when life was difficult,” Davis said in a statement. “Naming this Center in her honor is a tribute to her strength and a promise that we will continue investing in people and creating places where hope can grow.” 

She added, “For me, this has always been about possibility,” commented the actress. “Every person deserves to be seen. Every family deserves opportunity. Every child deserves to grow up believing their future is larger than their circumstances.” 

The Mary Alice Davis Family Engagement Center aims to provide families who call Central Falls home with social services, educational opportunities, community programming and food assistance. Additionally, it will serve as an integrated community network, connecting with local non-profits to ease the strain families experience as they navigate systems of care.

The Center will also provide a permanent home for the Mary Alice Davis Food Pantry, which the Rhode Island Community Food Bank largely supports. The Pantry, established in 2013, serves hot meals to nearly 3,000 Rhode Islanders in need each month.

Here’s what the Center will offer:

• Parent Resource Center
• Parent University and Adult Empowerment Programming
• Expanded Mary Alice Davis Food Pantry
• Meeting, Collaboration Space for Nonprofit Organizations
• Workforce Development, Financial Literacy Programming
• Family Engagement Initiatives
• Community Events and Educational Workshops