Salone di Cultura Partners Spotlight: Villa Charities
In our first post titled “Memory and Vision”, we talked about communities mapping their memories in unique ways with structures and geographical co-ordinates becoming internal compass points in the lives of their members. For Italian-Canadians, one of those places is the Columbus Centre, the hub of Villa Charities’ Lawrence-Dufferin campus in Toronto.
Villa Charities was originally established as the Italian-Canadian Benevolent Corporation (ICBC) and since then, thousands of people of all ages have visited daily for dance, visual arts, music and culinary programs, to view art exhibits at the J.D. Carrier Art Gallery , participate in a wide range of athletic programs at one of Toronto’s leading and largest fitness facilities, and enjoy fine Italian cuisine at the highly regarded Ristorante Boccaccio
As Italian-Canadians, we have long-valued and respected Villa Charities’ role in our community, a position earned through forty years of cultivating and promoting Italian-Canadian culture, and providing culturally-sensitive care to Italian-Canadian seniors at Villa Colombo sites in Toronto and Vaughan. To continue that role, Villa Charities is rededicating its efforts to celebrating and promoting Italian culture in ways that best serve the community today.
“When I assumed the leadership of Villa Charities in October 2015, it was with a sense of excitement about the opportunity to support this organization in reaffirming its special place in the GTA’s Italian community” stated CEO Eligio Gaudio. “But recognizing that we can never rest on our laurels, Villa Charities understands the need to change in step with changing times.”
The Charity is preparing for an exciting renewal of the Columbus Centre starting in the Spring of 2017, making way for a contemporary vision and new facility to reinvigorate the Centre as the central piazza for the contemporary cultural expression of the GTA’s Italian community and others wishing to explore Italian culture and heritage.
In fact, one of the most anticipated cultural events during this year’s Italian Heritage Month will be hosted by the Columbus Centre, our very own Salone di Cultura on June 2, 2016.
We are excited to be presenting this Salone in association with Villa Charities. This event for Villa is the beginning of a renewed energy and direction.
To learn more about Villa Charities, please visit www.villacharities.com.
To get your tickets for the June 2 Salone di Cultura, visit Eventbrite
