Program areas at ICCC
Italian Language School: The ICCC considers the Italian Language School and its related activities an essential part of its mission. The Italian Language School has existed at the Cultural Center since 1989. The school offers 7-week sessions throughout the year for adults, six 6-week sessions of kindergarten and children's classes, teen classes, and ongoing private & semi-private classes. Classes include grammar, conversation, a tourist guide to the basic Italian Language, and a look at Italy's contemporary life. The school also offers weekly summer camp sessions for children. Classes are offered in person at the Italian Cultural & Community Center and online. The Language School serves approximately 330 students a year.
Scholarship Program: In 2022, the Italian Cultural & Community Center awarded $13,000 scholarships to deserving young men and women. Since 1982 the ICCC has awarded $1,000 each for new and renewing annual scholarships to high school seniors based on merit & financial need. In 2022, two new scholarships were awarded, and six were renewed. The first two scholarships were awarded in 2022 for eligible undergraduate, MBA, or Ph.D. students for Study Abroad Programs in Italy. The program began in 2020 (overseas travel was not available in 2020/2021 due to Covid). Since 2000, the organization has granted more than $263,000 in scholarships.
Cultural Events: Since 1988, the public has enjoyed a continuous offering of events highlighting Italy and Italians' vast contributions to the world. During 2022 programs were conducted to highlight Italy's cultural, historical, educational, and traditions. The programs included wine lectures and tasting series that focused on regional wines and the history of the various wine-growing regions in Italy, a contemporary Italian Film Series during which films were shown once a month for eight months, educational lecture workshops, and cultural classes. Total attendance for all the Cultural Events exceeded 1500 people. Other events focus on Italian tradition, such as La Befana and Carnevale for the children but had to be canceled in 2022 due to the Covid Pandemic.
La Voce - Initially named "II Domani," the newspaper began publication in 1989 to inform the public and Italian-American community of events at the Italian Cultural & Community Center and report the member clubs' news. In 2020, the publication went electronic and was emailed bi-monthly to approximately 4,500 followers and can be downloaded free from our website as can prior issues.
Library: The Library houses books in Italian for our Language School students & the community at large for research & study. Additionally, the library collection includes books about Italian-American history and authors of Italian-American descent.
Heritage Book: To record history and preserve the memory of Italian-American life in the greater Houston area from the late 1800s until the present time, the organization has underwritten publication of two large, glossy-paged volumes of Houstonians of Italian-American Descent: Volumes I & II. The project was from 2001 to 2006. During that time, 100% of Vol. I books printed, and 99% of the Vol. II's were sold or donated to libraries and heritage organizations. Requests for Vol. II continues to be filled, albeit there are only a few copies left.
Italian Mass: For most Italian immigrants to America, Sunday recalls morning Mass in Italian followed by a family gathering for lunch. Since 1989, the organization has sought to preserve this tradition with a Mass in Italian once a month followed by an equally well-attended pasta lunch. Mass generally is attended by about 30-50 people, many of whom may be visitors from Italy or those whose native language is Italian and members of the Italian-American Community at large. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we were not able to conduct the Italian Mass from March of 2020 to December 2021 but the Mass resumed with approximately six Masses per year but no family gathering for lunch in January 2022. We expect lunch to resumed after the Mass by mid-2023.