2027 Sicilian Project Meet & Greet Fundraiser / Raffle

The Sicilian Project

The origins of The Sicilian Project can be traced back to my second book, Gaetano's Trunk, published about eighteen months after The Reverse Immigrant.

In that book, I included a whimsical chapter that began with a serious observation.

Over the years, I had become increasingly aware of the limited English-speaking skills of many otherwise talented Sicilian business people. It was not a matter of intelligence, education, or work ethic. Sicily had no shortage of those. The problem was communication.

I witnessed it firsthand while exhibiting at the New York Fancy Food Show, one of the largest international food exhibitions in the United States.

At the time, I was importing products from Sicily and exhibiting them to American buyers. As a result, I had a front-row seat to the opportunities and challenges facing Italian exporters in the international marketplace.

The contrast between countries was striking.

Exhibitors from places such as Holland, Germany, and Belgium often spoke fluent English. They could explain their products, discuss pricing, answer technical questions, negotiate agreements, and build relationships with prospective customers without hesitation.

Many Italian exhibitors faced a different reality.

Italy frequently provided translators, and they worked hard. But translators often lacked the detailed knowledge needed to answer questions about ingredients, production methods, distribution, shipping logistics, and marketing opportunities. Conversations became slower and less effective, with translators running back and forth between buyers and sellers.

Meanwhile, competitors from other countries were building relationships and closing deals.

As I watched this unfold year after year, it became obvious to me that language was more than an educational issue.

It was an economic issue.

When I returned to Sicily, I decided to investigate the matter more thoroughly.

What I discovered disturbed me.

At the time, Italy, along with Greece and Portugal, lagged behind many of its European Union counterparts in international trade and export performance. Countries with stronger English-language capabilities consistently seemed to perform better in international markets, particularly in places such as the United States.

As I dug deeper, I uncovered another troubling reality much closer to home.

Because of Sicily's chronic economic struggles, educational budgets had been cut repeatedly over the years. Too often, English instruction found itself on the chopping block.

The universities were a different story. Many maintained excellent language programs and produced highly qualified graduates. The problem was farther down the educational ladder, particularly in primary and secondary schools, where resources were often stretched thin.

The teachers I encountered worked hard and genuinely cared about their students. They knew grammar. They understood the mechanics of the language. They could teach from textbooks and explain the rules.

But many had never spent significant time speaking English in a real-world environment.

As a result, students often learned grammar and vocabulary but lacked the confidence to conduct a business conversation, negotiate a contract, or present their products to foreign customers.

What made the whole situation particularly interesting was that, in many ways, I understood exactly how those teachers felt.

The irony was that I was experiencing much the same thing myself.

By then, I could speak enough Sicilian dialect and Italian to get by in everyday life. I could handle routine conversations and function reasonably well in many situations.

But there was a vast difference between getting by and practicing law.

I could not have survived in a legal environment without Massimo.

That was one of the reasons he became so important to me.

I could listen. He could talk. I could read. He could write.

In a legal or business context, the stakes were simply too high. I would never have dreamed of drafting important legal documents in Italian or handling complex negotiations without his help.

So while I was studying the challenges faced by Sicilian students and teachers trying to master English, I was living a mirror image of the same experience.

They were trying to express themselves in my language.

I was trying to express myself in theirs. Suddenly, the problem became much more personal.

That was the backstory.

Now for the fun story.

Gaetano's Trunk turned out to be a very popular book, and I was delighted to see that the follow-up to The Reverse Immigrant was finding an audience of its own.

One day, while sitting in my law office, my secretary, Trisha, walked in.

"Attorney Zappala, you have a call from a Mr. Carbone from Montpelier, Vermont."

I didn't know any Mr. Carbone, but I took the call.

Steve Carbone introduced himself and told me that his grandfather had emigrated from the Province of Messina decades earlier and settled in Vermont. Through hard work, construction, real estate, and business acumen, the family had prospered.

Steve had gone on to build several successful automobile dealerships and had become one of Vermont's leading businessmen.

Then he surprised me.

"Attorney Zappala, I'd like to help you accomplish your dream."

He explained that he had been deeply moved by the section I had written in Gaetano's Trunk concerning English-language education in Sicily and wanted to make a contribution.

I thanked him sincerely.

After hanging up, I remember smiling and thinking to myself:

"What a nice guy."

Then another thought crossed my mind.

"I wonder what I'm supposed to do with a hundred-dollar donation."

About a week later, a Federal Express package arrived.

Inside was a letter and a check.

The check was made payable to The Sicilian Project.

The amount was not one hundred dollars.

It was $10,000.

I remember staring at it in disbelief.

When I had written Gaetano's Trunk, The Sicilian Project had been little more than an idea.

A whimsical idea. A dream. A "what if?" tucked away in the pages of a book.

Now I was holding a check for $10,000 made payable to an organization that did not yet exist.

Then the lawyer in me kicked in.

The Sicilian Project had no legal existence. It had no officers, no directors, no bank account, and no corporation.

So before I could cash the check, I had work to do.

I quickly incorporated The Sicilian Project in Massachusetts as a nonprofit corporation and began assembling a board of directors.

One of my first calls was to my publisher and friend, Gaetano Cipolla.

His involvement immediately gave the project credibility.

Next came Steve Carbone, whom I asked to serve as Chairman of the Board.

Then came Giovanni Lanza, a Sicilian-born businessman, military veteran, and telecommunications executive.

Finally, realizing that I was a lawyer rather than an educator, I reached out to Donnamarie Kelly of Saint Anselm College.

That phone call proved invaluable.

Through Donnamarie, I learned that Saint Anselm maintained a relationship with one of Italy's finest language schools, Babilonia in Taormina.

For the first time, the project had an educational pathway. The next challenge was funding.

Ten thousand dollars sounds like a lot of money until you start trying to operate an educational program.

If the project was going to survive, it needed donors. That required obtaining federal tax-exempt status. The application process for 501(c)(3) recognition was, to put it politely, a pain.

Then again, I was a lawyer.

And lawyers deal in pain.

Eventually, the Internal Revenue Service granted The Sicilian Project tax-exempt status, allowing donors to support the organization while receiving the appropriate tax benefits.

Now we had a corporation. We had a board. We had educational partners. And we had a way to raise funds.

As word spread through the Italian-American community, I began receiving invitations to speak about the project.

The most important came from Dr. Joseph Scelsa of the Italian American Museum on Mulberry Street in New York City's Little Italy.

The event sold out.

The following year, Steve Carbone and I returned for another sellout presentation.

Over the years, either I or Eszter—and sometimes both of us—have continued speaking there.

Those events helped establish a strong New York donor base that played a major role in helping the organization grow.

Over the years, the leadership of The Sicilian Project evolved as the organization matured.

One of the most important figures in that evolution was Giovanni Lanza.

Giovanni initially joined us as Corporate Secretary and quickly became one of the organization's most dependable leaders. Eventually, he assumed the role of President of The Sicilian Project, a position he has held for approximately the past decade. During that same period, I transitioned into the role of Chairman of the Board.

His leadership has been invaluable, and much of the organization's stability and growth can be attributed to his dedication and hard work.

As the years passed, another important change occurred.

What had begun as a Sicilian-American initiative increasingly became a collaboration between Sicilian-Americans and Sicilians themselves.

Among the most distinguished individuals to join our efforts were Professor Rosario Faraci and his wife, Agata.

Professor Faraci, a highly respected academic at the University of Catania, is one of Sicily's leading authorities in business development and economics. In addition to his academic work, he is also a journalist and contributor to La Sicilia, the island's largest newspaper.

Through articles and coverage appearing in La Sicilia, Professor Faraci helped bring attention to The Sicilian Project throughout Sicily, dramatically increasing awareness of our mission and activities.

The impact was immediate. Mayors called. Educators called. Parishes called. Community leaders called. Many asked the same question: "Would the Sicilian Project consider bringing a program to our town?"

As a result, opportunities expanded far beyond our original expectations.

What began as a modest effort gradually spread to communities throughout the island, creating partnerships with schools, municipalities, civic organizations, and churches. For me, that may be one of the most satisfying developments of all.

The Sicilian Project was never intended to be an American organization doing something for Sicily.

It became Sicilians and Sicilian-Americans working together for the benefit of Sicily itself.

There was another benefit to all of this that I could not possibly have anticipated when The Sicilian Project was first created.

Over the years, the relationships we developed through The Sicilian Project, combined with the extensive network created through You, Me & Sicily and our touring activities, resulted in something far more valuable than I ever imagined.

We built a trusted network of people throughout Sicily.

At the time, I viewed those relationships primarily as educational and cultural connections.

Later, I would discover they were something more.

As you will see later in this book, when Cyclone Harry struck Sicily and devastated large portions of the eastern coast, those same relationships proved invaluable.

Almost immediately, we had people on the ground who could assess conditions, identify needs, and assist families affected by the disaster. At the same time, we were able to communicate directly with our friends, supporters, and donors in the United States.

In many ways, The Sicilian Project became the bridge between Sicily and America during a time of crisis. What began as an organization dedicated to teaching English evolved into something much larger.

It became a trusted network of people helping people.

Education remained our primary mission, but when Sicily needed help, The Sicilian Project was already in place and ready to respond.

Sometimes the most important things an organization accomplishes are the things it was never originally created to do.

One additional group deserves special recognition.

For the past seven or eight years, the men and women of the United States Navy assigned to Naval Air Station Sigonella have become invaluable partners in our mission.

Over the years, numerous sailors have volunteered their time teaching English in our programs. We have also assisted many of them in obtaining educational certifications along the way.

Today, these volunteers form an important part of what has become an impressive teaching corps assembled over many years.

Their contribution cannot be overstated.

Today, The Sicilian Project operates year-round educational programs in Aci Catena and Canicatti, serving both children and adults.

Along the way, we have sponsored programs in Brolo, Catania, Palermo, Viagrande, Acitirezza and numerous other communities throughout Sicily.

Some programs were large. Some were small. Every one of them mattered. All told, more than 2,000 students have participated in programs supported by The Sicilian Project.

Two thousand!

Sometimes I stop and think about that number.

Two thousand students reached it because of an idea that began as a whimsical chapter in Gaetano's Trunk.

Two thousand students because one reader in Vermont picked up the telephone.

Two thousand students because generous donors believed in a dream.

Two thousand students because a remarkable group of volunteers, educators, directors, sailors, and supporters decided that improving English-language skills could open doors and create opportunities for future generations of Sicilians.

What started as an observation became a chapter.

The chapter became a dream.

The dream became an organization.

And thanks to the kindness and generosity of so many people along the way, that organization continues to prosper today.

Not bad for a whimsical idea.

Alfred Zappala 

The Sicilian Project, Co-Founder & Chairman