NEWS Bollettino Highlights In Touch Calendar Winners

Grand President'S Message by Michael Rossi (As per tradition, this issue of the Bollettino reprints the Grand President's Installation address so those who could not attend a District Installation can read the Grand President's message.) Dear Friends, Buon Anno and Happy New Year. It is my honor to be with you this year. Of all my duties as Grand President, I really enjoy installations. I am truly encouraged when an installation takes place because it tells me that there is a fresh beginning and a new optimism in the Federation. As we have done for years, we continue to enjoy the sense of belonging to our Federation family through our heritage and Church. As brothers and sisters in the ICF, we renew our spirit of unity and try to make our parish and community a better place. I have seen the wonderful things that you do for your Church and your communities. The apostolate reports say it all: countless hours of devotion and charity, millions of dollars in aid to your fellow man, and a true love for your faith and heritage. You have brought joy to thousands of Cooley's Anemia patients, seminarians, college students, developmentally disabled, our parishes, and our communities. You are making a difference. Allow me to reflect on what you have accomplished. Last year our members contributed almost 500,000 hours of time and donated $600,000 to various charities. Bravo! This is outstanding. Please continue this fine work. This is what it's all about. Our Gifts of Love program has helped many people with special needs. Since the beginning of the program in 1996, we have granted over $180,000 to help over 500 individuals with developmental disabilities to live happier and fuller lives. Thank you for supporting this program and for making a difference in their lives. One thing that makes the Federation unique among charitable organizations is that every cent of your donations goes to the recipient, not to overhead cost. Not many charitable organizations can make this claim. All of our expenses are covered in large part by your dues. So when you donate to the ICF charitable programs, you know that all of your money is working to help those in need. Thanks to your donations to the Cooley's Anemia program, we were able to issue a check to Oakland Children's Hospital for $54,000 last year. In fact, since we started supporting Cooley's Anemia as our National Charity many years ago, the Federation has donated over $1.5 million to help children who were born with this deadly disease. Children's Hospital is deeply grateful for our on-going generous support of this program. At the Central Council meeting in February, the Hospital presented us with a special award called the Crystal Heart, which honors us for our support of pediatric medicine, research and child advocacy. You are making a difference. The Scholarship program is a huge success, showing our young people that we care about them by investing in their future. Last year we awarded over $100,000 to help 243 college students with their education. Since the inception of this program, we have awarded over $2 million in scholarships. Still, there are at least 100 students who are turned away every year due to limited funds. The need is great so please be generous in helping these young people. The Providenza Seminary Fund is also very successful, showing our Church and our seminarians that we care about them. Every time you send a donation, for any intention, our seminarians benefit. We must continue to pray for vocations. They need our financial support and our prayers. I am encouraged when I hear our Bishops tell me how many young men are studying in the seminary. Still, the number of priests is diminishing in some areas. We are many and we need to continue helping them. The year 2007 ended tragically with the destruction of property and loss of life from the fires in Southern California. Although I am not aware of any of our members who were directly affected, some of their families and friends were devastated. The Federation started a relief fund to provide support to the affected communities, helping victims reestablish their lives. I encourage you to donate. Thank you for your generosity and please continue to pray for those who were impacted by these tragic events. At the Convention last year, I promised the delegates that I would do my best as your Grand President to insure that the ideals and aims of the Federation are always my motivation. Allow me to give you a brief update on some of the activities and goals. Let me start with our financial status. The finances of the Federation are sound right now. Our dues are very modest compared to other organizations, thanks in large part to the success of our investments and fundraisers. Please continue to support the Calendar sales, the Convention raffle, the Convention, and the Golf Tournament as these activities help keep our dues lower than they might otherwise be. The Task Force is working on a five-year plan for the ICF to see the direction we are going and what we will look like in five years. It is still too early to see their results, so I will keep you informed in the future. The Convention Directors are working on the next Convention in Garden Grove, Orange County, California. Please make sure that every Branch sends their delegates to the Convention. I encourage you to have alternate delegates in case the President or other delegates can't attend. When you aren't there it feels like a member of the family is missing. I want to see delegates from all the Branches at Convention. Public Relations is working to see that the Bolletino and the ICF website at ICF.org become better tools to reach out to our members, to communicate better with you, to educate you about the programs, and to let you know what's happening in the Federation. Public Relations is also starting to work on the ICF awards that will be given at Convention this year. These include the Pope John XXIII award, Family of the Year, Mother Teresa, Young Adult Leadership, and the Grand President's award. I encourage you to nominate deserving people for all of these awards. Begin searching now in your areas for outstanding candidates to receive these prestigious awards. The ICF is important, and we must continue to increase our membership through unity and cooperation. Unless we work to increase our numbers, this very valuable organization may eventually be lost. Our charities, our heritage, and our Churches will surely suffer without us. We cannot and will not let this happen. What are we doing about it? The Membership committee is available to help Branches with membership programs, especially with family memberships. The Workshop committee and Deputy program are available to help Branches that are having trouble with finances, finding new officers, and they will give you the tools you need to succeed as a Branch. The Executive committee is working to establish new branches in the Reno, Tucson, and Phoenix areas. Although we no longer have a Field Operations Director, be assured that we will continue to work on opening new Branches. In many ways, the Italian Catholic Federation is a perfect means for us to unite and remember who we are and what we stand for. It means work, commitment, camaraderie, heritage, faith and fun. Even if you're not asked, please come forward and do what you can. A family is cohesive only when each member contributes to its success and welfare. I am asking each of you to do your part, no matter how small. Every member matters and you can make a difference. Work with each other on new ideas and projects for your Branches and Districts. Demonstrate Christian charity to your parishes and communities. If you focus on the good things we do, people will remember. Thank you for making the Federation look so good. This year please commit yourself to our larger ICF family, within the foundation of shared faith and heritage, and make the world a better place. Marcie and I wish all of you good health and happiness in the coming year. God bless you and the Italian Catholic Federation. Michael Rossi Grand President Italian Catholic Federation, 675 Hegenberger Road, Suite 230, Oakland CA 94621 tel: 888/ICF-1924; 510/633-9058; fax: 510/633-9758; Email: info@icf.org Website designed by HYPERSPHERE