L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 24 L'Italo-Americano O v e r o n e h u n d r e d years ago, Italian Community Ser- vices (ICS) began s e r v i n g t h e B a y Area's Italian community. It b e g a n i n 1 9 1 6 w h e n l e a d i n g members of the San Francisco Italian community, including A.P. Giannini, Marco Fontana, and Andrea Sbarboro, estab- l i s h e d t h e I t a l i a n - A m e r i c a n Community Services Agency. Successful in their own lives, these leaders wanted to provide individuals and families with r e s o u r c e s t o h e l p t h e m l i v e healthy, independent and pro- ductive lives. ICS has been an integral part of the economic and cultural fabric in the San F r a n c i s c o B a y A r e a . T o d a y , ICS's independently funded, community-based programs are a model for health and social service organizations nation- wide. With this laudable history, it is no wonder that ICS has select- ed Pietro Bonanno as their new d i r e c t o r . P i e t r o r e f l e c t s t h e essence of the new Italian-Amer- ican community of Northern California. Born in Sicily of American and Italian heritage, he immigrated to the US and spent his formative years in the Bay Area. L'Italo Americano had the opportunity to meet with Pietro and learn more about ICS, his objectives going forward, and also to learn more about Pietro himself.   L'Italo Americano high- l i g h t e d y o u i n a D e c e m b e r 2016 article. In the intervening years, have there been person- al or professional updates you would like to share? In the last two years, I have become more involved in the Italian and Italian-American community in the broader Cali- fornia context. Having been born in Italy and my mother being an Italian-American, I can associate and understand the nuances and needs of both groups: Italians in the US and Italian-Americans living here. I joined the board of ICS and became Vice President of the board until I accepted the position of Executive Director. My ties to Italian Community Services are deeper than most believe. My great aunt Norma Marenzi was extremely involved a n d s e r v e d o n t h e b o a r d f o r CATHERINE ACCARDI Italian Community Ser vices welcome their new director, Pietro Bonanno Italy. I urge everyone interested in learning more about our ser- vices, or interested in giving back, whether by volunteering or donating, to visit our website at www.italiancs.com. We are redefining our out- reach strategy to efficiently pro- vide financial, health and social services. The Women's Auxil- iary is a vital part of Italian Community Services and we are working closely to give them the t o o l s f o r m o r e s u c c e s s f u l fundraising and liaising with the o u t e r c o m m u n i t y . A n d , o f course, if readers have sugges- tions and/or questions, please write me directly as I am here to assist the community. My email a d d r e s s i s p i e t r o j b o n a n n o @ italiancs.com Do you foresee any particu- lar challenges going forward? The only challenge I see is moving too fast. My excitement and passion for the community drives me to work at "start- up" speeds. I need to keep my energy high yet listen to our wise culture which teaches, "chi va piano, va sano e va lontano", t h o s e w h o g o s l o w l y , g o healthy and far.   many years. My great grandpar- ents benefited from the agency's s e r v i c e s u p o n a r r i v i n g f r o m Lucca and Genoa in the 1920s. I am honored to follow in the footsteps of California's greatest Italian pioneers such Giannini (Bank of America), Ghirardelli (founded Ghirardelli Chocolate) and Fontana (Del Monte Foods). The agency has served the com- munity for 103 years and my goal is to inspire and guide the vision to serve the future gener- ations. The ICS tagline is "Pre- serving our culture, serving our community."  As the new director, how do you plan to expand on that original mis- sion as it relates to the present day Italian community? Italian Community Services began as the Italian Board of Relief providing hope and sta- bility to immigrants landing in California with dreams for a brighter future. Now is the time we must celebrate our culture and language while meeting the needs of our community. In the last 103 years, our community's needs have changed. We will expand our focus of assisting the elderly by providing new activi- ties for socializing, as well as expand our services ranging from setting up appointments at the Italian consulate to applying for MediCal, to wellness class- es, etc. And most exciting, we will help the new, younger genera- tion, such as Italian exchange students (high school and colle- giate), au pairs, and the tech dri- v e n n e w a r r i v a l s t o t h e B a y Area. ICS will serve as a refer- ence point for them on how to integrate successfully into the complicated Bay Area social fabric. In addition, we will support t h e o p e n i n g o f I t a l i a n l a n - guage/culture clubs in Bay Area h i g h s c h o o l s t h a t d o n o t teach our lingua materna (moth- er tongue). Lately, I am using t h e m o t t o " a d e s s o o mai più'" (now or never), which drives me to accomplish more each day. Everywhere I turn I see that our community desires to unite, yet there is very little effective coordination. The cam- panilismo, which was ubiqui- tous of the San Francisco Bay Area groups, must instead shift to collaboration with the Con- sulate, Comites, Cultural Insti- t u t e , N I A F , a n d t h e regional Italian groups in the Bay Area working together to celebrate our language and cul- ture. Further, Italian Community Services needs to be a catalyst for collaborations between all entities and people that are Ital- i a n , I t a l i a n A m e r i c a n , or Italophile at heart. For exam- ple, Italian Community Services own a beautiful rare Italian book and magazine collection dating back to the mid-1800s. Both USF and UC Berkeley staff are providing insight on how to properly organize this treasure and, in the near future, make it accessible to the public. Oppor- tunities like displaying this col- lection provide organizations and people to come together and share in our language and cul- ture. W i l l t h e r e b e a c h a n g e towards more visibility and outreach? I'm glad you asked this. We a r e t r a n s f o r m i n g o u r s o c i a l media presence using fresh tal- ent and creativity sourced from Pietro Bonanno poses with the bust of John Fugazi. Photos courtesy of Pietro Bonanno SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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