Honoring the Children of San Giuliano di Puglia, Italy

A Program of Remembrance and Celebration:
Emigrant Savings Bank, Our Lady of Pompeii School and CISNY
Honor the Children of San Giuliano di Puglia, Italy

December 17, 2002

Students from Our Lady of Pompeii display storybooks donated as part the San Puglia ceremony.  In the back row, from left to right, are Reverend Joseph Cogo of Our Lady of Pompeii Church, Emigrant Bank Senior Vice President Ted Morehouse, Italian Consul General Giorgio Radicadi, Our Lady of Pompeii Principal Sister Marialice Ackermann, Mentoring USA Founder and Chair Matilda Cuomo, and CISNY Executive Director Roy Blash.

A group of students, educators, community members and not-for-profit partners met today at Our Lady of Pompeii School in Greenwich Village to commemorate the 26 children killed when an earthquake hit the Italian town of San Giuliano di Puglia on October 31, 2002.

"This past fall, I saw a photograph of San Puglia on the front page of the New York Times," said Roy Blash, Executive Director of Communities in Schools, New York (CISNY).  "It showed a group of knapsacks that would never be used again by the children who had lost their lives.  I knew we had to do something to help."

As a response to the tragedy, CISNY and  Emigrant Savings Bank helped to establish a pen pal program between Our Lady of Pompeii School and the San Puglia elementary school.  Additionally, CISNY and Emigrant donated 350 new reading books to the library at Our Lady of Pompeii.  Each book is marked with a special label commemorating the children of San Puglia.

(From left) Our Lady of  Pompeii PTA President Carmela Barbieri; Reverend Joseph Cogo; Principal Sister Marialice; School Librarian Greg Lupert; and Melinda Greenblatt and Kathy Riecks of the Archdiocese of New York.	Librarian Greg Lupert (left) and Pastor Amandus Derr hand out new books in the school library.  Mr. Lupert has worked at Our Lady of Pompeii School for over 20 years; Pastor Derr is the Senior Pastor at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Manhattan.

In the future, CISNY and Emigrant plan to make a donation of books directly to the library at the new San Puglia elementary school.  Additionally, the partners hope to establish a student exchange program between San Puglia and Our Lady of Pompeii.

Book Donation 

Communities in Schools, New York and Emigrant Bank donated over 350 new books to the library at Our Lady of Pompeii School.  The collection includes such literary classics as Little Women, Huckleberry Finn, A Tale of Two Cities and The Secret Garden.  It also includes new favorites, like Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl, as well as non-fiction and reference books, atlases, hobby and craft books.  In the future, CISNY and Emigrant plan to provide a similar donation of books directly to the library of the elementary school in San Puglia.  The book donations are part of "Building the Future, One Life at a Time," a cooperative endeavor to help New York City schools. 

A Special Thanks to Our Honored Guests

Ted Morehouse, Senior Vice President, Emigrant Savings Bank	Matilda Cuomo Founder and Chair, Mentoring USA	The Hon. Giorgio Radicati Consul General of Italy in New York	Joseph Sciame National 1st Vice President, Order Sons of Italy
"Nothing is appreciated as much as something you never asked for."	"I hope the children will read more and be eager to share and express themselves writing with pen pals in Italy."	"Our response to this tragedy is a program of communication between the children of San Puglia and the children of New York."	"I am enthusiastic about the birth of understanding on the occasion of this important initiative."