10 Things We Love

This year, Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty is celebrating our Tenth Anniversary, a significant milestone. To mark the occasion, the company is donating $10,000 to area non-profits. The company is thrilled to share our “10 Things We Love” campaign, a list of the best reasons to live in Rhode Island and neighboring areas. We are pairing each item with a donation to a local non-profit to give back to the communities that have bolstered our success. As a company, we are committed to giving back to the community and supporting organizations that are making a positive impact.

Over the past decade, Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty has grown from two broker owners and two agents at its inception, to seven offices, 160 agents and employees, and over $4.5 billion in total closed sales volume.

This success would not have been possible without the support of our clients, agents, employees, and our communities. As a token of our appreciation, we are honored to contribute to organizations that are making positive changes in our neighborhoods.

“We sell more than homes. We have the privilege to highlight our coastal way of living and show the world how beautiful our communities are,” says Judy Chace. “There is no better place to live.”

"We are grateful for the support we have received over the past decade, and we want to give back to the communities that have helped us achieve our success," says Ray Mott, Broker/Owner. "We believe that supporting these organizations will help create a better future."

Each item on our list of “Ten Things We Love” will be announced every other Tuesday.

1. Good Night Lights at Hasbro Children's Hospital

IN SUPPORT OF

What’s worse than being in the hospital? Being in the hospital as a kid!

In May of 2010, one employee of Hasbro Children’s Hospital decided to send a goodnight signal to a patient he’d been working with. On his ride home, he turned and flashed his bicycle headlamp at the hospital. His young friend flashed his room lights off and on in response.

And just like that, a heartwarming tradition was born.

In the 13 years since, countless businesses and individuals have joined in to wish hospitalized children “good night” through the simple act of flashing a light on and off. Police officers, Brown University, The Providence Steamboat Company, patrons of the Hot Club, and more. At 8:30 every night, children at Hasbro Children’s Hospital are greeted with this display of goodwill, and they respond with flashlights.

We at Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty are proud to be part of this community of light. That’s why the very first thing on our Ten Things We Love campaign is the Good Night Lights, and our celebration will be paired with a donation to Hasbro Children’s Hospital.

2. Newport Folk Festival

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For more than 60 years now, the Newport Folk Festival has been synonymous with both summer in Rhode Island and folk music worldwide. From the moment Pete Seeger set foot onstage in 1959 until just last summer, when Joni Mitchell made a surprise return to the event, this has been the heart and home of folk music. It is, of course, sold out for 2023, and we expect it will continue to be intrinsic to life in Rhode Island for decades to come.

The Newport Festivals Foundation, in turn, provides music education and outreach to communities throughout Rhode Island, and across all musical disciplines and genres. Additionally, they expanded their online programs during the pandemic and provided relief to gig workers who were hit especially hard by the sudden closure of life as we knew it. Their commitment to keeping music and artistic expression accessible to all is one we here at Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty wholeheartedly support, and we are thrilled to pair this iconic Thing We Love with a donation to the Newport Festivals Foundation.

3. The Superman Building

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Ah, the Industrial Trust Company Building!

Doesn’t ring any bells?

How about the Superman Building?

Built in 1928, the art deco beauty reminiscent of the Daily Planet building in the Superman comics has long defined the Providence skyline – but it’s also been vacant for a decade now. News that it will be redeveloped into 285 residential housing units was welcome on many fronts, as it will ultimately add much-needed housing to our local market and bring new business to downcity restaurants and shops.

We’re pairing this Thing We Love with a donation to Preserve Rhode Island, ‘The Statewide Advocate for Rhode Island’s Historic Places.’

I think we can all agree that progress without preservation isn’t really progress at all. Whether it’s an individual building or a certain neighborhood or village, we understand the character that our heritage lends to this place we call home. We are proud to support preservation efforts here in our community.

4. Reading with Raymond

IN SUPPORT OF

Officer Raymond

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If you’ve never felt the urge to rub a police officer’s belly or offer him a biscuit, you’ve probably never met Officer Raymond.

Raymond is a 7-month-old goldendoodle who joined the police force in Hopkinton, Rhode Island as their Compassion Dog. While his duties include sitting with victims of crime as they give statements or comforting those in need following an accident, the program for which he has become best known at schools and libraries throughout our community is Reading With Raymond.

Officer Raymond loves to sit with children as his handler, Detective John Forbes, reads aloud to a group. He’s also fantastic at sitting with kids individually while they read to him: it’s good for their reading skills and good for this very sociable pup – a true win/win!

The Compassion Dog program is funded entirely by donations, so we at Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty are excited to give to both Officer Raymond and another cause we’ve long championed, Literacy Volunteers of Washington County. Reading With Raymond helps kids, Literacy Volunteers helps adults – that’s another win/win right there!

5. Buck-a-Shuck

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Go on – try to convince us you’re not a regular at your local buck-a-shuck…

As oyster farming has grown exponentially in our coastal communities, so has the popularity of this happy hour tradition, bringing business into our local restaurants all week long. If you don’t know the difference between a Chessawonock and an East Beach Blonde, check your Rhody card at the door.

Seriously? The thriving oyster farms in our watersheds from Mystic to Matunuck, Portsmouth to Padanaram, can all be traced to clean water advocacy that has been going on for decades in our communities. That’s why we at mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty are pleased to pair our love of buck-a-shuck with a donation to the Salt Ponds Coalition.

Founded in 1985 and funded and staffed almost entirely by member volunteers, the Salt Ponds Coalition is the official state-designated watershed council for Rhode Island’s coastal salt ponds. Their monitoring of water quality is the reason you can confidently slurp from shells on the barstool of your choice!

6. Learning to Sail

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Here in the coastal communities we serve, the only thing better than being IN the water is being ON the water.

Yes, cue the Yacht Rock and the Christopher Cross for the sixth Thing We Love – it’s time to go sailing!

One of the great things about life in Rhode Island is that we have no shortage of learn-to-sail programs. While somewhere in the Midwest, kids are stuck in buggy camps, our young people can spend summer vacation learning the difference between port and starboard, tacking and jibing.

And thanks to programs throughout the state that offer scholarship programs, they can do so regardless of household income.

So in the spirit of open access to water recreation, we are pleased to pair this Thing We Love with a donation to the Greenwich Bay Sailing Association.

Because, after all, the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see…

7. Art Studio Tours

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You know the saying: without ART, EARTH would be just EH…

We are fortunate to live in an area that prizes the arts, from world-renowned RISD to local collectives. And here in our beloved Farm Coast, the South Coast Artists’ group is celebrating its 20th year of Open Studio Tours.

Mixed-media sculpture, pottery, jewelry, watercolors, oils, pastels. If there’s a medium you can think of, it’s been part of this tour of artists’ personal studios in Tiverton and Little Compton, Rhode Island, and Westport and Dartmouth, MA. While a gallery only shows finished work, this is an opportunity to see behind-the-scenes to the setting and methods that contribute to an artist’s work.

Mark your calendars for this self-guided tour: it’s happening August 19-20.

In addition to the open studio tours, the South Coast Artists nonprofit provides pop-up events, workshops, and an annual $1,000 scholarship to a local high school student for work on a project or in service of a creative goal. We at Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty are proud to pair this Thing We Love with a donation to South Coast Artists.

8. Snowy Owls at Sachuest Point

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Okay, sure – some of us in the Northeast make like snowbirds and fly to warmer places for the winter, but those of us who stick around get to witness some of the cool features specific to winter in Rhode Island.

At some point in most New England winters, that means sighting snowy owls at locations like Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge in Middletown.

If you can see one of these amazing birds of prey up close and not be impressed, well – you’ve seen too much.

We think they’re magnificent, and their brief annual migration to Rhode Island is one of the things that makes the off-season here so special. We’re thrilled to pair this Wild Thing We Love with a donation to Norman Bird Sanctuary, which has over 300 acres of land and 7 miles of trails in Middletown dedicated to getting us all out there, enjoying the natural beauty of this very cool place we call home.

9. Culinary Arts Museum

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Food is big in Little Rhody, and we are fortunate to have Johnson & Wales University and the Culinary Arts Museum as part of our local community.

Much like our real estate industry, the culinary arts are all about service, and at its best, service extends to those who need it most.

Enter the Harvest Kitchen at Farm Fresh RI.

In this culinary job training program for adolescents involved with the Department of Children, Youth, and Families, trainees learn about everything from sourcing ingredients from local farms to preparing and selling products and meals at farmers’ markets and the Farm Fresh RI café.

As we continue our 10th Anniversary celebration, we are thrilled to support the mission of Farm Fresh RI and the Harvest Kitchen, a Thing We Love in hopes that graduates of the program may find the nourishment they need in every area of their lives.

10. Dog-Friendly Beaches

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We love the water here in Rhode Island, and we adore our dogs.

It’s fitting that a company with a Chief Biscuit Officer (shoutout to Jackie Brown!) would be located in a place where many beaches — from East Bay to South County, Watch Hill to Westport — become dog-friendly in the off-season. After all, what pooch doesn’t prize some playtime in the salt and sand, maybe a roll in some good, stinky seaweed?

Happily, Rhode Island is also home to Vintage Pet Rescue, a senior and special needs dog rescue. This week, they are welcoming their 200th rescue dog of 2023 — WOW!

So, for our 10th and final Thing We Love in celebration of our 10th Anniversary, we are thrilled to provide a donation to Vintage Pet Rescue.