Welcome to the site of the Order of Sons of Italy - Garibaldi Lodge in Winnipeg, Canada.  As we enjoy a joint chapter with the Canadian Italian Business and Professional Association (CIBPA), this site represents both organizations.  See "About Us" for more info.

RBC Announces Gala Sponsorship

Justin Bova, SOI President, announce today that RBC Royal Bank will be the Title Sponsor for the 2012 Sons of Italy Gala Dinner.  While RBC has been a longstanding supporter of the Gala, and a sponsor for many years, this is their first time as our lead sponsor.

As Title Sponsor, the RBC name and logo will be closely associated with this 26th Annual Gala.  We look forward to working with them on this very special event.

Christmas Eve Feast Wows

2012 Gala Announced

The Order Sons of Italy will proudly hold its Annual Gala Dinner on Saturday March 17, 2012 in the main floor Ball Room at the Winnipeg Convention Centre.

This acclaimed event demonstrates the philanthropic spirit of Sons of Italy and the caring and giving that Winnipeggers, their businesses and leaders are known for.

This year's Charity of Choice is Winnipeg Harvest.

In a change with tradition, the 26th Gala will not have a keynote speaker.  Instead, the evening will feature Frank Sinatra style entertainment by Las Vegas entertainer Steve Lippia.

Lunch with Mayor Katz - SOLD OUT!

Garibaldi Lodge President, Justin Bova, announced today a Lunch with Mayor Sam Katz on Thursday December 1, 2011.  The luncheon will be at the Manitoba Club, from noon to 1:30 p.m.

In making the announcement, Justin said “We feel it is important to reach beyond our own cultural community and partner with like minded organizations that create mutual benefits and opportunities." In this regard, Sons of Italy will be partnering with the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce for this luncheon.

Romel Dhalla, Interim Secretary of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce said he "welcomes this opportunity to work with Sons of Italy on this event."

At only $40 per person, this is not a fundraiser.  Rather, it is another example of the Club providing opportunities to its membership while building relationships in the broader community.

Those interested in attending can purchase tickets at $40, or a table of 10 for $400.  Tickets must be purchased in advance, and will not be available at the door.

Justin commented that "We look forward to Mayor Katz’s remarks and the great ambiance and hospitality of the Manitoba Club.”  Seating is limited, so those interested are asked to purchase online today.

Italian Scholarship Awarded

The Sons of Italy Garibaldi Lodge Italian Studies Scholarship for 2011/2012 has been awarded to two deserving University of Manitoba students.  The $600 scholarship is awarded annually to a student entering third year in the Italian Minor program who has achieved a high level of scholastic achievement.

This year, the selection committee of the University of Manitoba selected Douglas O'Brien and Chiou-Rung Chen as award winners, receiving $300 each toward their studies. Congratulations and buona fortuna to both of them in their third year of Italian Studies.

Submissions are now closed for the SOI Scholarship and the Lupa Scholarship for students entering post-secondary institutions for the 2011/2012 school year.  An announcement of the winners is expected near the end of the year.  Thank you to the many who applied.

Donation to Children's Wish

Folklorama - Italian Pavilion

Sons of Italy again sponsored the outdoor entertainment tent at the 2011 Folklorama Italian Pavilion.   Running from August 7 to 13 at the Centro Caboto, the pavilion featured a lively show filled with Italian songs and dancing, outstanding food and a wide range of cultural displays.

Our Sons of Italy Splendore d'Italia dancers performed in the show.  Congratulations to the girls -- their hard work in months of practice resulted in a fantastic performance.

The Sons of Italy tent provided a great spot for those who wanted to eat and drink and enjoy the great weather, or for those waiting for the next show.  We served Italian sausage on a bun, and the crowd favourite, porchetta on a bun, along with Italian beers, wine, granita and drinks.

Sales were steady throughout the week, helping contribute to the financial success of the Italian pavilion, with profits going the the Italian League of Manitoba.

In addition to our financial contribution to sponsor the tent, Sons of Italy members staffed the tent all week, providing over 300 volunteer hours!  Check out the photo gallery for a peek at what went on during the week. 

The SOI tent coordinators, Armando Nasuti and Alex Baksina put in a long week to ensure that the tent was a great success.  A special congrats to Rosy Infantino, the pavilion coordinator -- a fantastic job done.

Our Italian smiles even earned us a total of $116.75 in our tip jar!  This amount has been donated to the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba.

If you didn't make it out to Folklorama, plan to take it in next year -- the Italian pavilion was one to be proud of! 

Children's Hospital Given iPad

While the event is called "Christmas Eve Feast", it's reach extends beyond that one day.  Due to the continued fabulous support of our sponsors and donors, we again had excess funds over what was needed for the actual event.

For the 2010 Feast, the excess funds have been used to support two events.  Firstly, we sponsored the Rossbrook House Graduation Dinner (see article below).  The remainder of the funds were used to purchase an Apple iPad for the Children's Hospital.

Renée Ethans, Manager of the Child Life Dept at Children's Hospital, said "We are so lucky to be recipients of the Order of Sons of Italy's amazing generousity and thoughfulness."  In the presentation photo, L-R: John Giavedoni, Renée Ethans, Reno Augellone.

As for the use of the iPad, Reneée explains, "At my recent annual international Child Life Council Conference, I attended two sessions on the use of iPads by Child Life Specialists in Children's Hospitals. iPads are an incredible tool, and are used widely in a variety of ways. I have returned home with lists and lists of apps that are appropriate for different developmental stages. We will use the iPads as distraction tools - to distract patients with age appropriate games and activities while undergoing procedures, and as teaching tools - we will download our preparation picture books that we use to teach children about upcoming procedures. We will also use it with the 3G connection (Children's Hospital does not have WiFi) for our longterm patients to be able to communicate with their faraway family and friends. The possibilities and benefits are endless!"

One 16 year old patient who has been severely burned, has been stuck in her room for  months.  First she couldn't leave her room for the longest time due to her injuries; now she can, but because of infection concerns, she can only go into the playroom where the computers are located after hours.  In addition to her physical isolation, she has been isolated from her friends due to the limited access to the internet.

Renee indicated that the iPad would also assist in these situations, and that this teenager would be getting some time on the new iPad in her room.  It is a small consolation for a young girl who has been severely disabled from fire, but it is still a significant help in making her hospital stay a bit more bearable.

A big thanks to all who donated to last year's Christmas Eve Feast (and we hope you will donate again when we come knocking in October).  A special thank you to the major sponsors of the Christmas Eve Feast:  X-Cues Billiards and Cafe, West End Biz, Sorrento's Restaurant (Ellice Ave) and of course, Sons of Italy.

SOI Raises $37,763 for Cancer Care MB

Team Sons of Italy in its second year of participation in the Challenge for Life walk for Cancer Care Manitoba raises $37,767.  That amount put us as the third largest corporate team.

Congratulations to the 24 walkers who took to the streets on a beautiful sunny Saturday, June 11th.  At the half way point, the team gathered at Memorial Park, and being Italian, well charged up on the fuel of champions: espresso!  After the expresso tail-gate party, the team headed on for the last half.

Each of the walkers walked for a different reason, or a different friend/relative who has been affected by cancer.  The back of the team t-shirt said it all: "Together we walk, a 'Band of Brothers'.  We walk for those who cannot, we walk for those who we have lost, we walk for those who continue the fight."

Special congrats to first time walker Cam Giavedoni who raised over $4,000!  If you want to donate to a team member, its not too late - grab your credit card and click here.

Check out the SOI Challenge for LIfe 2011 photo gallery for more pictures, and don't miss the video.

Rossbrook Grad goes Italian!

Wednesday June 8th capped off another very successful year for the school program at Rossbrook House.  Eighteen students graduated from grades 6, 9 and 12 in this WSD #1 program.

With excess proceeds from the Christmas Eve Feast, SOI contributed the dinner for the graduation event.  About 150 parents and students attended the 45 minute ceremony, then dined on bread sticks, two types of salad and lasagne. 

Sister Maria Vigna, co-Executive Director of Rossbrook House said "we were so excited to hear that Sons of Italy were wanting to do our graduation dinner for the second year -- it is so wonderful to have them involved."

The dinner, prepared by Sorrento's on Ellice was a huge success.  Many thanks to the volunteers that helped serve the food.  A full gallery of event photos can be found here.

Co-chair Reno Augellone said "it is a great event, we are proud to be able to feed the children and their parents on this wonderful occasion."

Sister Maria Vigna added, "I had a few people come up to me and say, 'those guys are having such fun!'.  The Sons of Italy brings such a happy energy to our dinner."

Visit with Italian Ambassador in Ottawa

Winnipeg members are privileged to have a joint membership with not only Sons of Italy, but full membership in Canadian Italian Business Professionals Assoc. 

In May, a CIBPA board meeting was held in Ottawa.  Representatives from all CIBPA chapters were in attendance, including Tat-Liang Fabio Cheam and John Giavedoni from Winnipeg.  The Friday meeting included a packed afternoon discussing strategy directions and growth plans.

When the meeting concluded, we were invited to a reception at the home of the Italian ambassador to Canada, Andrea Meloni.  It is a large, stately home in Gatineau -- the perfect setting to network with the ambassador as well as fellow CIBPA National Board and members from CIBPA Ottawa.

It is always very rewarding to take part in these national events, as they are a unique opportunity to meet members from across the country and learn about what other chapters are doing.

At the end of it all, we returned home with some fresh ideas, but of equal importance, the comfort in knowing that much of what we are doing in CIBPA Winnipeg is leading the way.

"Thank You Sons of Italy" - HSFM

On Saturday, April 16th the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba placed a large ad in the Winnipeg Free Press thanking Sons of Italy for our generous donation of $80,000.

It was an absolute pleasure working with the people at HSFM, who provided a lot of assistance to us throughout the Gala. 

We met with Bill Mowat & Debbie Brown this week to give them a real cheque -- apparently the banks don't accept that big cheque we gave them on Gala night.  Bill explained that they will use $60,000 of the funds towards this year's budget to help pay for the research and education work they do.

They will apply the remaining $20,000 to create the "Order Sons of Italy Research Endowment Fund."  The financial return from this endowment will provide income to HSFM in perpetuity.

If any SOI members, or the public at large, wish to donate to the HSFM, they can now designate their donation to add to the Sons of Italy fund.  It is wonderful to think that part of this year's gift will keep on giving forever.

Sons Donate $110,000 to charity

The Sons of Italy Garibaldi Lodge again showed their passion for giving.  At the 25th Annual Gala on Saturday March 19, 2011, the Sons of Italy gave away $110,000!

First up at the Gala, two representatives of the Canadian Hero Fund, who flew in from Toronto, were presented with a cheque for 10,000.  The Canadian Hero Fund provides scholarships for spouses and children of Canadian soldiers who have lost their lives.

The second Helping Hand Charity of the night, Dante Aligheri Cultural Society, who provides Italian language classes to children and adults in Winnipeg, were also presented with a cheque for $10,000.

The sold out crowd of 1,300 then watched as the Master of Ceremonies Fr. Sam Argenziano was momentarily speechless (but just for a moment) by a surprise donation to the Holy Rosary Parish to help with the many capital needs of the church.  Fr. Sam took a minute from his raw and sharp humour to thank the Sons for the unexpected and much appreciated gift.

After a fantastic meal, a CIBPA award presentation to Charlie Aiello and a keynote address from Minister Vic Toewes, attention turned to the night's charity of Choice The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba.

Representatives from the night's title sponsor, CIBC, joined Sons of Italy to present the largest donation ever made by the Garibaldi Lodge, $80,000 to The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba.

After the formal proceedings, while many were already dancing to the sounds of Tek-9, the talk at the espresso and pastry bar was about the large contributions, totalling over $110,000 being presented during the evening -- for many, providing yet another reason to return next year!

Click for more photos of the evening, and to check our list of sponsors, who were our partners in staging this Gala, along with our Gala Committee -- thanks to all!

SOI Given Community Service Award

At our 25th Annual Gala, Mayor Sam Katz presented to the Sons of Italy Garibaldi Lodge, the City of Winnipeg Community Service Award.

Established by the mayor's office in 1950, the Community Service Award is for groups who have demonstrated excellence and achievement in any field of endeavour, benefitting in an outstanding manner in the social, cultural or economic well-being of their community.

Order Sons of Italy, Garibaldi Lodge is the 231st organization since 1950 to receive the award from the City of Winnipeg.

Gala Raffle Winners

John Berger wins a Vacation in Tuscany & Capri - a return trip for two to Italy, with a one week stay at the Tolaini winery in Tuscany and a one week stay in a private condo on the isle of Capri.

Tyler Back wins Golf in Palm Springs for 4 - a return trip for four to Palm Springs California, including a one week stay at the luxurious Marriot Palm Desert Resort, four passes to attend the Bob Hope Classic Golf Tournament, and 20 rounds of golf at the Desert Dunes Golf Course in Palm Desert.

Christine Woodward wins a Fiat 500 to drive for a Year - a one year lease to drive a new Fiat 500.

Brian Melnyck wins "Entertain at Home" - a full home entertainment system including a Samsung 55" LED TV, Samsung Blue Ray player, Nintendo Wii video console and sports package, iPod Touch music player, plus a Delonghi Espresso/Cappuccino machine and an in-home dinner for 6 by the Winnipeg Convention Centre Chef.

Tammy Miniacca wins "Sporting Around" - drive a Mercedes SLK 300 convertible for a week, a full year membership to Canadian Fighting Championship, two season tickets to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and six tickets to Manitoba Moose game on March 27, 2011

Pina Aiello wins "Impress With Art" - an oil painting by Aija Svenne and an oil painting by Penny Scott Mazur.

SOI Flag Flies Over Winnipeg