Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
The COVID-19 pandemic is over, but a Facebook group co-created by Theresa “Terri” Sarro during that difficult time continues to thrive as a resource for residents of North Riverside.
Sarro, who serves as trustee in the suburban Chicago municipality, started the group North Riverside Neighbors Helping Neighbors with her good friend and fellow resident Kathy Ranieri.
The two had a long history of working together for the good of the community. Nine years ago, they started “Christmas for a Cause” to raise funds for families in need and have held additional fundraisers to assist people in need during difficult times.
Sarro and Ranieri started the Facebook group — which has about 1,500 members — after seeing how much friends and neighbors were willing to help each other during the pandemic. The group helped procure masks, food, toiletries and other supplies, and Sarro personally delivered groceries to seniors who needed assistance.
“Although the pandemic is over, this site has proven to be a great way to share information, organize meal trains when a neighbor is in need of a meal, and donate items to others,” Sarro says.
A 32-year resident of North Riverside, Sarro grew up in adjacent Berwyn. She graduated from Immaculate Heart of Mary High School in nearby Westchester, and earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a master’s degree in business administration from Dominican University in Illinois.
She moved to North Riverside when she and her husband purchased a home there shortly after getting married.
“I loved the community where my grandparents lived and wanted to be close to them,” explains Sarro, whose paternal great grandparents emigrated from Cosenza, Italy.
“I grew up connected to my Italian heritage and followed many traditions. Sundays and holidays were spent at my grandparents’ house in North Riverside with my extended family: uncles, aunts and cousins. We enjoyed spending time together eating traditional southern Italian food and hearing stories from my grandparents.”
The Sarros, who have three children, have always been very involved in the North Riverside community.
Terri Sarro was especially active in the PTA at Komarek School and in the local Little League, and has been a parishioner of Mater Christi Church (now St. Paul VI Parish) since moving to town.
Sarro has worked as an accounts receivable specialist for 17 years. “I am a remote employee, and the flexibility it has offered me has been invaluable to me and my family,” she says. “In addition, having this flexible schedule has allowed me the time needed to serve my community.”
Sarro first ran for village trustee in 2017 and was elected to her third term in the spring. She is the chairwoman of the village’s administrative committee, using her business experience to help guide the operations and finances of the village, she says.
“North Riverside truly is ‘the small community with a big heart,’” she says, quoting the village’s motto, “and I love serving and helping residents in our village.”
