The George Wiley Center is a non-profit, 501 (c) 3 grassroots agency that organizes members of the low-income community to advocate for systematic changes aimed at alleviating problems associated with poverty. Our mission is “to build a community that addresses human needs and redresses injustices.” We have a special focus on food and energy insecurity issues in Rhode Island. Through outreach and recruitment in low-income neighborhoods, we are able to mobilize members of the community impacted by poverty to fight for changes public policy using a variety of direct action, lobbying and non-violent tactics aimed at getting policy makers and law makers to implement solutions that are proven to work.

Named after local, national civil rights activist, George Alvin Wiley, the George Wiley Center coordinates the Rhode Island Campaign to Eliminate Childhood Poverty, whose volunteer members speak from personal experience and use a variety of grassroots lobbying and non-violent protest tactics to create changes in local government and private institutions that will help eliminate poverty in their lives and in the lives of others.

The work of the George Wiley Center is based on the belief that each person in our community is endowed with innate dignity and worth. Each deserves a decent home, adequate clothing and nutritious food, the essential resources for intellectual and emotional development. These goals are achieved through community education and awareness and community organization and development.

We are committed to forming cooperative alliances with church, business, labor and community groups and to bringing those directly impacted by poverty into leadership roles as community change agents. Our agency holds open (free & public) membership meetings in numerous locations around Rhode Island.