FAIRFIELD, N.J., May 10, 2010 — UNICO National President Andre' DiMino today declared May as "Membership Month," urging Italian Americans to help defend their heritage and culture as well as reconnect with their roots by joining UNICO — the nation's largest Italian American volunteer service organization.
"It is painfully apparent that our ethnicity is being subjected to an increasing and accelerating attack of negative stereotyping and denigration," DiMino stated. "Now, more than ever, it is crucial for Italian Americans to go back to their roots and join an organization like UNICO that celebrates Italian culture and history, combats negative stereotyping and provides educational and volunteer services and scholarships to the community at large."
DiMino, through UNICO's Anti-Bias Committee, led the charge against MTV's "Jersey Shore," appearing on more than 40 media outlets and in hundreds of articles across the nation, protesting the stereotyping of the Italian American community by this series and other programs. As a result, UNICO membership increased, sponsors dropped out and Italian Americans across the Country made thousands of calls, letters, and emails in support of DiMino's efforts.
"There continue to be so many negative stereotypes of Italian Americans in the media. We must fight back and put out positive messages of all the great things Italians and Italian Americans have done throughout history," DiMino said.
"The last great wave of Italian migration to America ended about five decades ago," DiMino noted. "Italians are no longer immigrating in great numbers and revitalizing Italian culture in America. It is now up to us who are here. With every generation, we sadly witness an erosion of Italian culture on many levels, whether it's the failure to pass the Italian language along, or the neglect to learn about our own history and identity."
DiMino noted one of the new ways UNICO has worked to do that this year included the new Italian and Italian American Heritage Calendar, which featured important Italian and Italian Americans throughout history. The calendar was distributed nationwide to groups, individuals, and used as an educational tool in classrooms.
UNICO National was founded in 1922. The word "UNICO" means unique in Italian, and in ensuing years, UNICO became an acronym for Unity, Neighborliness, Integrity, Charity and Opportunity. There are now many local chapters throughout the US.
Each year, the UNICO Foundation and UNICO National Chapters donate millions to various charities, including cancer research, mental health and Cooley's anemia with scholarships being the main focus, as roughly one-third of all funds raised going to deserving students from chapter locations throughout the nation. Significant funds have been raised for national and international disasters such as the earthquakes in Italy and Haiti and hurricanes in the US and for victims of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks.
"While we celebrate our Italian heritage, UNICO members help locally, as well as on the national and global level," DiMino said.
For information on how to join UNICO, call 973-808-0035 or visit http://www.unico.org.
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