Members propel CIACO to new heights

Running a large, successful non-profit enterprise has its challenges, but Chicagoland Italian American Charitable Organization President Lou Scaramuzzo says his members make his job so much easier.

“The membership is so cooperative and willing to do whatever it takes to help people,” Scaramuzzo says. “They are very giving people who do exceptional charitable work.”

Scaramuzzo is on his second stint as president of CIACO, having previously led from 2007-14. A member of CIACO since 2003 and a board member since 2005, he has been with the group almost since its founding in 1998.

One way to track the group’s growth is by how much food CIACO gives away each year to families in need around the holidays. In the beginning, the group gave around 50 baskets of food each year, Scaramuzzo says, noting that they now dole out around 700 crates full of food.

“We call them ‘baskets of love,’ but they aren’t baskets, they are big cardboard boxes with 60 pounds of food,” Scaramuzzo explains.

The group gets together at a warehouse in West Chicago to fill the large boxes like an assembly line, Scaramuzzo says.

CIACO’s two major fundraising events are its Festa della Famiglia e Amici in June and its annual golf tournament in August. This year’s tournament attracted nearly 200 golfers, with more than 240 people at the dinner after the outing, Scaramuzzo reports.

Festa della Famiglia e Amici features great food, excellent live music as well as prizes and raffles, he notes, with the highlight of the event being the bestowal of college scholarships and grants to families in need, particularly those of veterans.

The fact that all of CIACO’s annual events continue to grow is a credit to the generosity of the many members who give their time as event co-chairs and volunteers, Scaramuzzo says.

“We have so many members willing to volunteer on those committees,” Scaramuzzo says.

Scaramuzzo points out that the group’s scholarship program has grown to the point where they now give $2,500 awards to 25 college-bound students. A three-member committee screens all the high school students who apply and interviews the top applicants based on their financial need and academic success. The students don’t have to be Italian to receive a CIACO scholarship, Scaramuzzo notes.

Grants to families in need are also a grand tradition. This year, CIACO gave $10,000 each to two wounded military veterans and a family who has a child with a major illness, Scaramuzzo reports.

“We find out through members about (people in need) and sometimes people outside the organization call to recommend someone deserving,” Scaramuzzo says.

For more information about CIACO, including the upcoming monthly group meeting, visit their website at ciaco.org.