| Italian Men's Club |
Italian Men’s Club
25 Years of Service
The Italian Men’s Club came into being as a result of a tragic event. In 1980 a massive
earthquake struck. Italy and devastated a large area. In San Jose 20 or so gentlemen
(mostly Italian) would meet each Thursday at the San Jose Elks Lodge for dinner, as
they were preparing to leave, they received word of a tragic earthquake in Italy. Upon
learning the severity of the quake and the devastation it caused, they decided to help.
The next morning, the gentlemen got on the phones and gathered around 20 Italian
men to find out what they could do. Soon the wives became involved and practically
overnight, hundreds of pounds of clothing, blankets and shoes, etc., were collected,
boxed up and sent to Italy. The men decided they wanted to do more; so they began a
food drive. The money was raised through dances, raffles, auctions, and made a
sizeable contribution.
Through personal connections they enlisted the aide of Monsignor John Patrick
Carroll-Abbing, the founder of Italian Boys Town. He recommended the money be
used for rebuilding a school in Italy which was destroyed in the earthquake.
In October of 1981 a group of 45 men and their wives traveled to the village of Saint
Angelo de Lombardi and took part in the opening of the brand new elementary
school.
The men decided they wanted to continue charitable work when they returned to the
United States. This first attempt at raising funds to help others in crisis lead to raising
funds for student scholarships, contributions to charitable organizations and a senior
lunch program.
The Italian Men’s Club has had an impact on this community as well as outside the
community:
Senior Lunch Program
We continue to serve 150 to 250 low cost hot Senior Lunches followed by 5 games of
Bingo every Monday starting at 12:PM
Charitable Organizations
We continue to make significant donations to local charitable organizations when
possible with the profits raised from our Monday evening Italian Men's Club Bingo
operation.
25 Years of Service
The Italian Men’s Club came into being as a result of a tragic event. In 1980 a massive
earthquake struck. Italy and devastated a large area. In San Jose 20 or so gentlemen
(mostly Italian) would meet each Thursday at the San Jose Elks Lodge for dinner, as
they were preparing to leave, they received word of a tragic earthquake in Italy. Upon
learning the severity of the quake and the devastation it caused, they decided to help.
The next morning, the gentlemen got on the phones and gathered around 20 Italian
men to find out what they could do. Soon the wives became involved and practically
overnight, hundreds of pounds of clothing, blankets and shoes, etc., were collected,
boxed up and sent to Italy. The men decided they wanted to do more; so they began a
food drive. The money was raised through dances, raffles, auctions, and made a
sizeable contribution.
Through personal connections they enlisted the aide of Monsignor John Patrick
Carroll-Abbing, the founder of Italian Boys Town. He recommended the money be
used for rebuilding a school in Italy which was destroyed in the earthquake.
In October of 1981 a group of 45 men and their wives traveled to the village of Saint
Angelo de Lombardi and took part in the opening of the brand new elementary
school.
The men decided they wanted to continue charitable work when they returned to the
United States. This first attempt at raising funds to help others in crisis lead to raising
funds for student scholarships, contributions to charitable organizations and a senior
lunch program.
The Italian Men’s Club has had an impact on this community as well as outside the
community:
Senior Lunch Program
We continue to serve 150 to 250 low cost hot Senior Lunches followed by 5 games of
Bingo every Monday starting at 12:PM
Charitable Organizations
We continue to make significant donations to local charitable organizations when
possible with the profits raised from our Monday evening Italian Men's Club Bingo
operation.
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