Auguri di Buona Pasqua
Dear Friends:
When the glorious season of Spring arrives in Italy we say 'Aprite le finestre e' primavera' which means 'throw open your windows Springtime is here' and so I'd like to use this uplifting phrase which I heard as girl in Italy to ask you to let the gentle breezes of Spring blow open your hearts to help us continue to fulfill our IWL mission of helping 'I Nostri Bambini'.
Since the year 2001 when we instituted our 'I Nostri Bambini' program with your most generous and unflagging support, we have been able to help countless children affected by severe physical illnesses, mental disabilities and severe emotional trauma. Since 2001 we have donated a total of over $2,651,000 and in the year 2021 we helped 128 children by donating a total of $208,000.
Here is just a small sampling of the children we have helped this year---we provided a feeding chair to a non-verbal 30-year-old with the intellect of a 3-year-old boy still in diapers and whose father is regrettably deceased; we purchased a 'concept bike' for a 7 ½-year-old girl with learning disabilities who has a genetic abnormality whereby she cannot walk and does not have proper balance; we paid for dental work and an anesthesiologist for a boy who has autism and epilepsy and who has a disabled mother; and we provided an activity chair to a 6 ½- year-old girl with cerebral palsy. I should mention that we have two other very worthwhile programs, 'Adopt a Family For Christmas' and 'Adopt a Family for Easter'. To these programs we donated gift cards for food and essentials up to $1,000 to each family in 2021. These gifts are particularly important this year since we are still afflicted by the COVID pandemic. On behalf of the entire Italian Welfare League board I appeal to you for a contribution to our 'Easter Drive 2022' so we can continue our mission to help those Bambini that count on the generosity of the IWL families to help them. We thank you for your past contributions and would be most grateful for your continued support.
Grazie, Buona Pasqua, Ivana Giuntoli McCotter President
