The Little Italy Lodge Scholarship Foundation recently achieved remarkable success in its mission to support deserving students by awarding scholarships. This year, the foundation received an overwhelming number of applications, setting a record with 19 enthusiastic Italian American candidates vying for financial assistance. This surge in interest showcased the increasing recognition and reputation of the…
The 2022 essay topic was: “What parallels can you draw between the challenges faced by early Italian immigrants coming to the USA in the late 1800s/early 1900s and those faced by immigrants coming to the USA today? What lessons might be learned from the experiences of those early immigrants that could help today’s immigrants?”
A great Italian immigration ignited in the late 19th century due to the extreme amount of poverty in Southern Italy. Between 1880 and 1924, more than 4 million Italians fled to the United States in search of a more prosperous life. But even though in theory it made sense to come to the United States…
Little Italy Lodge Foundation 2023 Scholarship The 2023 Scholarship Application is available here online at our https://littleitalyfoundation.org/application/ website (also click on the Application menu button). The 2023 Essay Question is: “With each generation, elements of our traditional Italian heritage tend to fade due to neglect, heritage blending and other changes. Many families have traditions rooted...
When looking back into our Italian ancestral history, we can uncover lessons to help us in our own difficulties. Italian immigrants in the late 1800s/early 1900s faced numerous hardships on their journey to the United States. While there are many distinctions between past Italian immigration patterns and immigration today, there are also many parallels between…
Early Italian immigrants faced unique challenges that have carried on into modern-day immigration. We tend to hear the same phrases during conversations regarding newcomers to the US. Many people fear that immigrants will steal jobs, introduce crime, and/or bring unwanted change. These negative stereotypes and beliefs block some of the most rewarding elements of immigration:…
As I reflect on my time on the Little Italy Lodge Scholarship Foundation Board, I admire how far we have come. From a small scrappy team that got the job done to now being able to support students with over $30,000 a year in scholarships is quite remarkable. I am so proud to be a…
Italian immigration into the United States began around the 1880s, numbering approximately 300,000, and steadily rose through the late 19th and early 20th centuries, eventually coming to a taper around the 1920s by which time more than 4 million Italians had set out for a new life on American soil. Comprising more than 10 percent…
Each 2022 LaFamiglia scholarship applicant was required to produce a 500 word essay on a topic of current interest as a major component of the application. We will feature a winning essay each month, and this month’s essay was written by Madelin McLean. Madelin was the recipient of the Mattricciani/Vondersmith Scholarship. The essay topic was:…
In researching the challenges of Italian immigrants of the late 1800s – early 1900s in comparison to today’s immigrants coming to the United States, the old adage, “The more things change, the more they stay the same” proves to be true. By the late 19th century, Italy was suffering from widespread poverty, social chaos, and…
