Member's Meeting Sunday March 27/22
Hello to our Members:
it is almost spring and many of the previous mandates being lifted—it feels good to see hope on the horizon especially as we are now in the Easter Season!
This letter is to remind you of our upcoming General Meeting on Sunday March 27th at the Fonthill Lions Club at 103 Hurricane Road. Normally our meetings begin at 3 pm but for this month we anticipate a longer meeting and have moved the start time to 2:30 pm promptly.
We will be sharing financial updates, updates on the on-going renovations of 700 Steele Street and we will also be having a special guest speaker after the business portion of the meeting.
Club Castropignano has been selected to participate in a survey for a graduate student at York University, Rita Giancola, who is collecting information from immigrants and families of immigrants of Molisani descent.
We have been asked to share this survey with our members who are of Molisani background- it is an in-depth study of the rituals, culture and traditions of how our community celebrates/mourns/symbolizes death.
Rita has asked to speak to the membership and introduce herself and explain in detail the reason for this project for her final thesis and her own roots to Molise. I had the pleasure of speaking with Rita at length and her data will focus on frank and honest discussions of death and dying, the traditions of sharing meals as a family and how it ties into the Catholic symbolism of the Last Supper. It is fitting that we welcome Rita during the Holy Lenten season.
The survey is for anyone of the province of Molise background, not just our membership.Not just Castropignano.
So feel free to forward it to any family members who are Molisani but not a member of Club Castropignano. The survey is completely confidential and is totally voluntary. Rita needs them sent back by the end of March. However, you can wait until after the meeting and after you have had the opportunity to hear Rita speak to respond ( or not).
As you know, our Club mission and mandate includes the promotion of our culture. Club Castropignano is the ONLY Italian club in Niagara that is region specific to Molise and so it is with much pride in our heritage that we ask you to take a few minutes to read the survey and see for yourself that it is quick and easy to access and complete. We are humbled to be asked to take part in a project that will enhance and share our unique culture to future students and professors.
The March 27th meeting will include refreshements and snacks and an opportunity to chat directly with Rita and ask questions. If you know of any non-members who might be interested in hearing her speak, please feel free to invite them to attend at 4pm. Rita will be speaking at 4pm for about 30 minutes or so.
In advance, I would like to thank all who take the time to read through the survey. On a personal note, I completed the survey myself and it was enlightening, sad and uplifting all at once.
Finally, a quick reminder that membership fees are due by March 31st. If you have already paid, thank you and if you still wish to pay you can e-transfer to treasurer@clubcastropignano.com or by cheque via mail to 700 Steele Street, Port Colborne L3K 4Z2 or you can drop of to Safe N Sound Storage at 399 Killally Street, Port Colborne or to Bridgeview Motors at 432 King Street, Port Colborne.
I have attached a copy of an explanatory email from Rita Giancola and the survey link below. If you need any additional information, please call me directly at 905-384-9292 during business hours.
Respectfully on behalf of the Executive of Club Castropignano Niagara
Manager of Business Operations
Club Castropignano Niagara
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Dear Members of Club Castropignano
Let me formally introduce myself.
My name is Rita Giancola, and I am a part-time student in the Interdisciplinary Studies Master's Program at York University. My research is focussed on understanding how Molisani Italian-Canadian immigrants perceive death and dying, supervised by Professor Roberta Iannacito-Provensano. I am fascinated by the Molisani perspective as both my parents were born and raised in Molise, Italy.
I was directed to contact you by Professor Ernesto Virgulti in the Italian Studies program at Brock University.
To collect data, I have created a Google Form which is only for individuals with Molisani heritage. The survey takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete, and I would greatly appreciate you sharing the survey with any contacts that are of Molisani heritage. The data will be used to write my thesis paper and for the creation of a theatrical production incorporating drama and music.
All participants will remain anonymous and there will be NO potential of identification of the participants in the thesis paper and the theatrical production. Note that this research has been reviewed and approved by the FES Research Committee on behalf of York University and conforms to the standards of the Canadian Tri-Council Research Ethics guidelines.
The survey can be accessed at: https://forms.gle/MvaHEofkMcndZVXBA
You may email the survey to any generation of Molisani heritage. I look forward to speaking and participating at your next meeting on March 27. At that time, I will go into further detail with my research.
Thank you for your time and assistance! If you have any questions/ideas/suggestions, please feel free to contact me at any time. (416-937-6407)
Stay safe and healthy.
A presto,
Rita
MA Candidate | York University | Graduate Program in Interdisciplinary Studies
4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada
ritagian@yorku.ca
Italian Cultural Death Dinner Survey
This survey is for those who are of ITALIAN-HERITAGE, specifically from MOLISE and who are of legal age (19 or older). The survey should take no longer than 10 to 15 minutes to complete. The goal of the research is to gain an understanding of how Molisani-Italian-Canadian immigrants and their families perceive death and dying. This study is taking place as part of graduate research for the Interdisciplinary Studies Master Program at York University.
Your participation in this survey is completely voluntary and you may choose to stop participating at any time. Your decision not to volunteer, to stop participating, or to refuse to answer particular questions will not influence the nature of the ongoing relationship you may have with the researcher, or with York University either now, or in the future.
The data collected will be used to write a thesis paper and for a creation of a theatrical production incorporating drama and music. All participants will remain anonymous, there will be NO potential of identification of the participants in the thesis paper and the theatrical production. The researcher acknowledges that the host of the online survey (Google Form) may automatically collect participant data without their knowledge (i.e., IP addresses). Although this information may be provided or made accessible to the researcher, it will not be used or saved without participant’s consent on the researcher’s system. Further, because this project employs e-based collection techniques, data may be subject to access by third parties as a result of various security legislation now in place in many countries and thus the confidentiality and privacy of data cannot be guaranteed during web-based transmission.
This research has been reviewed and approved by the FES Research Committee on behalf of York University and conforms to the standards of the Canadian Tri-Council Research Ethics guidelines.The data will be solely used for the purposes described above. For further questions, please contact the principal investigator, Rita Giancola, at ritagian@yorku.ca.
