Professor Philip J. DiNovo is the Founder and
President of the esteemed American Italian Heritage
Association and the American Italian Heritage Museum
in Albany, New York. He has also been knighted by
the Italian Government and is a respected figure in
America’s Italian community
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
February 2024
As we
enter 2024 I feel strongly that this is a perfect
opportunity to evaluate how we carried out our
responsibilities in the previous year. In the first
place and blatantly noticeable is that attendance at
our various events is still well below from what it
was before the COVID pandemic. Also, we tried but
were unable to accomplish the following: establish
some programs for young people, recruit much-needed
volunteers, offer a few programs I would like to see
implemented. Now, on the positive side, we ended the
year 2023 in the black, a fact that must be
acknowledged with gratitude! A number of our events
were supported and turned out to be very successful.
These include the Porchetta Dinner, our Annual
Italian Christmas Market, in-person and on-line
Italian Language Classes, Albany’s Annual Festival
of Nations and Theresa Viva’s cooking classes. Also,
our Thrift Shop is doing very well and the new
Bridal Boutique has proven to be a valuable addition
to our building that sits along the Central Avenue
side of our campus. I am happy to report that we
have obtained a number of new members which is
great. Our tireless volunteers, without whom we
could not carry out the varied and vital tasks
required of our organization, are truly wonderful.
And, we thank each of them for sharing their time
and talent on behalf of the A.I.H.A.&M.
Here
is a 2024 Challenge for all of you:
I invite
every member to assist us
by thinking of ways
that will help our
entire organization remain
vibrant.
We have new goals and we will try
our very best to reach those that we have not yet
been able to achieve. We are very grateful to the
late Mary Finley along with Fred and Kay Benedetto
for their generous donations to our Endowment Fund.
Without a doubt, increases in this funding are so
important for our future. Please help us to
encourage donations to our Endowment Fund.
Within our museum we honor the Italian immigrants
with love and devotion. When you visit you can walk
the footsteps of your ancestors whose dream was to
make a new and better social, economic, and
spiritual life for us and future generations. Our
exhibits remind all visitors about the values,
challenges, courage and dedication it took to make
their visions a reality. Our loved ones live on as
long as they are remembered. Our museum remembers
and thanks those who helped us obtain the American
dream. All of what I have written dictates the
reasons why we need your continued support. With
your assistance we will maintain a vibrant
organization in possession of an Endowment Fund
large enough to ensure a bright future for our
outstanding museum.
Since our numerous annual
events required space in this particular issue of
the newsletter, I was not able to go into greater
detail regarding Easter celebrations. This happened
all because the holiday is early this year! Our
Italian heritage is so rich on many levels,
especially with respect to the way in which our
lives are enhanced through our traditional
celebrations. My hope is that you will make these
cherished cultural events a special part of your
life.
Our museum is a proud guardian of past
and present memories. Every time you make a donation
it is a thank you to the Italian immigrants who
helped us to obtain the American dream. We keep
their memory alive!
In closing, I would like
to sincerely extend to you and your families my best
wishes for a very Happy Easter ~ a blessed Pasqua.
Prof./Cav. Philip J. DiNovo
In honor of the Italian immigrants who came to the United States of America, we are committed to record and preserve the contributions of our Italian Heritage and culture to our society through our newsletter, cultural programs, activities, exhibits, and outreach programs.