Today we’d like to introduce you to Don Cimorelli.
Hi Don, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I am a second generation born Italian American. My grandparents moved to the USA during the great Italian Immigration era from the 1890s – 1920s. I was always very proud of my heritage, traditions, and culture. Following my corporate executive career in Human Resources and the Benefits Outsourcing industry, I decided to join the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America upon retirement. It is a national organization of more than 30,000 members with hundreds of local lodges. I joined the Triangle Sons and Daughters of Italy in 2019 which had approximately 100 members. I progressed through several roles and became President in late 2021. Through our comprehensive approach to creating meaningful social, cultural, educational, and community service programs, I facilitated our expansion to 500 members.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The overall trajectory of growth and creating a vibrant and welcoming environment has been one of building increased momentum year after year. I felt strongly that we could do this and that there was an appetite for Italian inspired programs and events in the Greater Raleigh area, but it required a very hardworking grassroots campaign of digital and live recruiting. As we grew the organization, the challenge was to identify larger spaces to hold events, and to offer a greater variety of both large-scale events and specialized smaller programs to meet the diverse interests of a growing membership. We needed to expand our calendar of activities to include informal and informal Italian language options, travel to Italy, and offering education focused seminars, book club, and more culinary options. We also needed to ensure that our offering was attractive to people from their 20s to over 90 years of age who are single, married, divorced, and widowed. We still held long-term favorites since the Triangle Lodge began in 2004 such as movies, picnic, dinners, and a holiday party; but we also started playing the Italian card game of SCOPA at a very contemporary setting of a family friendly brewery with food trucks.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
While my corporate executive career in large organizations developed my skills to lead a growing non-profit organization, my current passion and focus is the Triangle Sons and Daughters of Italy in America. I specialize in creating meaningful experiences for people that enable them to connect with one another, build relationships, and celebrate the Spirit of Italy. I know that our organization hit the mark when new members say “I wish I found you sooner.”
The Triangle Sons and Daughters of Italy is recognized for its welcoming environment, Our motto is “Enter as a Friend, and Leave as Family. We demonstrate to prospective and members that we have a seat at the table for them. Not only do we enrich the lives of our members who represent all heritages with a passion for Italy, but we give back to the region through extensive community service programs. We recently raised $10,000 for Pancreatic Cancer Research at the Duke Cancer Institute, and we painted an entire apartment for a homeless family in need of transitional housing.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
We are a volunteer non-profit organization that simply needs to breakeven from a financial standpoint. While we celebrate Italian Heritage, we are also contributing so much to the region in many worthwhile areas that also include military families and people with autism and intellectual development challenges. The best way other businesses in the area can collaborate with us and provide support is through complimentary or discounted event space and products and services that we need to run our volunteer organization. Little things such as a gift card from a business to offer in a raffle is beneficial to the business and to the specific cause that we are supporting, We also wish to collaborate with and support other community groups. Our members likewise register to be volunteers for other non-profits such as Family Promise, USO, and Triangle Disability and Autism Services.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tsdia.org
- Facebook: Facebook Group: Triangle Sons & Daughters of Italy
