From the President's Desk

By Robert A. Bianchi, Esq.

It is an honor to have your trust to lead the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America (OSDIA) as your President during this crucial time in our Order. OSDIA is the largest and oldest ItalianAmerican organization in the United States. Throughout our history, we literally donated tens of millions of dollars to support programs, from numerous charities and scholarships to disaster relief and veterans’ causes.

Our Commission for Social Justice (CSJ) ensures that we combat discrimination and promote the rightly positive image of all Italian Americans in the United States.

But what makes OSDIA different from other Italian American organizations, in addition to all of this?

Not only were we the first, and still the largest, organization, but we are also the only major Italian-American organization that has a grassroots component. I see this as the key ingredient that separates us from the rest, in so many prolific and powerful ways.

Why is “grassroots” important? In addition to promoting Italian-American causes, preserving our culture, and combating discrimination, so many of our Grand, Subordinate, and Local lodges are literally out in the community (i.e. boots on the ground), improving the standard of living for all Americans.

Whether it is to raise funds from a bake sale, gala event, or meatball contest, we use that money on a local level to do a variety of positive community projects. These projects include providing safety equipment to our first responders, donating to charities, helping feed those in need, to name a very few of the very real grassroots projects throughout our Order.

In a personal and real way, we get to meet one another at meetings, functions, and events. We get to see each other face to face, as we accomplish so many positive initiatives in the community. We are in action, each and every day!

To demonstrate our grassroots, I started a program entitled “This is US.” Our team of professionals at the National Office and I take the stories of our events and pictures of our amazing gatherings, and put together a promotion piece to showcase. In reality, we see who we are, from coast to coast, and in Italy and Canada. This is US!

The bottom line is that we are actively in the community making a difference in the lives of others in a very real and pragmatic way!

Put simply, from our National Office in Washington, D.C., to the local lodges around the world, we all share a common love of our culture and easing the pain of those in need.

There are so many reasons to join OSDIA, but I found one of the most daunting challenges is communication. I made it a priority to do three (3) things since taking office:

Let the world see who we are and what we do.

Sometimes I feel that we are the best kept secret. We need to change that. While we have over 90,000 Facebook followers, we made a concerted effort to engage on all social media platforms, such as Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. This is where the younger, potential members get their information.

We are now on TV, News 12+ with The Italian America Show. This is a TV station that reaches 3.8 million people in the New York metropolitan tri-state area, and the show streams every Sunday night at 8 p.m. EST throughout the world. This gives us tremendous visibility, and I thank all of our supporters/sponsors who advertise with us on that show! Our newest corporate sponsor is Cento. Their commercial that airs during the show is amazing!

Provide value in membership.

With so many groups to join, we made a concerted effort to improve member benefits, produce interesting contests, develop projects that are cutting edge, and provide a better way to engage all members. We want to provide tools for success while having a fun, engaging, and amazing interactive experience for our members.

Better communication throughout the entire organization.

Now, this part is a two-way street. We are actively engaging every Grand/Subordinate Lodge with regular meetings, launching surveys, and posting our events and programs on all of our social media platforms as well as providing email updates.

While I am extremely optimistic about our future, it will take a little effort, so please stay connected. In an age of “connection” with social media, this should not be an issue. It just takes a little effort.

If you want to see great interviews of famous Italian Americans, watch the Supreme Lodge events, view local lodge events that we air, enjoy “This is US” videos, and obtain topics of relevance to our organization, there is no better place than to view our YouTube channel. It is easy (and free) to subscribe. If you need help, reach out and we will be more than happy to help!

Please consider following us on our social media platforms: YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and LinkedIn—and don’t forget to like and share!

Our next major event is our National Education & Leadership Awards (NELA) Gala in Washington, D.C. on May 25. The Sons of Italy Foundation (SIF), headed by SIF President Joseph Sciame, is preparing an amazing event. This will be our first national, in-person event in over two years! We are excited to enjoy one another’s company and distribute thousands of dollars of scholarship funds to deserving students. However, there are limited seats, and tickets are selling quickly. For details, visit www.NelaGala.org. If you can’t attend, we appreciate any support with our advertising options.

We are so excited about what we accomplished thus far and are excited about moving forward with many amazing initiatives!

Like all things, nothing happens without an amazing team of individuals. Both at the National Office and those from our ranks that literally work every day to move the vision forward. They have made tremendous progress! Thank you!!!

I hope this finds you healthy and well.

Fraternally,