Welcome to Broadway Stages’ Spotlight, where we feature local shops, restaurants, organizations, individuals, and venues that provide goods and services to our community. October is Italian-American Heritage Month. Join Broadway Stages in honoring Italian-Americans’ values, culture, and contributions during this observance! This week, we bring you the Columbus Citizens Foundation.

In 1944, New York Supreme Court Justice Judge S. Samuel Di Falco and a NYC businessman, Generoso Pope (both Italian immigrants), agreed to memorialize and foster the contributions of millions of their Italian forefathers. Together, they founded the Columbus Citizens Foundation (CCF), a non-profit organization in New York City. Their mission was to memorialize and foster their Italian forefathers’ contributions to the United States.

Today, the Foundation’s membership includes over 600 men and women of Italian heritage representing the fields of law, medicine, government, business, education, and the arts. The Foundation’s Members are prominent and successful Italian-Americans in their communities and beyond, proud of their heritage and American citizenship.

The Foundation’s most public activity each year is organizing New York City’s Columbus Celebration. This celebration is the largest celebration of Italian-American heritage and achievement globally. The festivities are organized by the Foundation’s Members on a strictly volunteer basis, donating their time and expertise to help create the Foundation’s Annual Gala Dinner, the wreath laying at Columbus Circle, the Columbus Day Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and New York City’s annual Columbus Day Parade on Fifth Avenue.

Predating the founding of the CCF’s founding, the Columbus Day Parade was born on October 12, 1929, when Generoso Pope led a parade from East Harlem down to Columbus Circle. The parade was followed by a fundraising dinner to benefit immigrants creating a new life for themselves in NYC. Political leaders, Broadway performers, high school bands, virtuosi professional groups from the United States and Italy, folkloric dancers, and Italian delegations from various regions contribute to the parade with colorful costumes, music, and floats marching along Fifth Avenue.

Most of all, the Foundation provides opportunities for deserving Italian-American students through scholarships and grants through philanthropic and cultural activities. They are committed to improving the lives of Italian-American students and their families by providing scholarship funding to help the students develop the skills and tools needed to succeed. The CCF has awarded more than $36 million in scholarships since its inception. The scholarships they provide include:

●        Dr. Anthony S. Fauci Scholarship for graduate studies in medical and public health fields of studies

●        Morgagni Medical Scholarship, a four-year scholarship for medical school students

●        Columbus Guarini Scholarship for students to attend John Cabot University in Rome

●        Franco Zeffirelli Scholarship Fund for the Arts awarded scholarships to Italian students
from the Istituto Statale d’Arte of Florence, Mr. Zeffirelli’s alma mater, to allow them to study in New York

For those interested in applying for a scholarship, you can click HERE. For those interested in financially supporting the Foundation’s philanthropic pursuits, you can donate HERE. Events sponsored by the CCF are not limited to the Columbus Celebration. To stay informed about all that they offer, you can click HERE and follow them on Facebook.

Broadway Stages, an Italian-American family-owned business itself, is grateful for all that Italian immigrants and their descendants have done for the city. More than that, we are proud to know that the Columbus Citizens Foundation continues to foster and honor the achievements of the Italian-Americans in the city of New York.