Villa Charities Message
FROM
THE CHAIR
I am delighted to report
that the revitalization of
Villa Charities Inc. (VCI)
continued to make solid
progress in 2019. Our
organization has become more engaged than ever
with the community, our stakeholders and the
people we serve, helping us to build a path to a
brighter future.
Community Engagement
In 2019, we continued to engage with our valued
patrons, visitors, residents, tenants and staff as
part of our planning and decision-making process.
VCI’s “Community Open Forums,” “Friday Chats
with the CEO” and our “Dinner and Conversations”
provide opportunities for stakeholders to share
their views on our programs and services.
At the March 26, 2019 Community Open Forum,
community members joined us to discuss the
findings of the Villa Charities Visioning Project, a
broad-based stakeholder consultation providing
input toward a new campus-wide strategy. The
goal was to identify the existing and new resources
needed to address immediate needs and to
enhance our services and facilities for the future.
An initial visioning exercise in 2018 with Directors
of VCI and each affiliate was expanded to multiple
stakeholder consultations involving 200 people.
Separately, at a May 28, 2019 public meeting,
highlights from VCI’s 2019 Annual General Meeting
were shared with community members. We also
introduced monthly Friday Chats with the CEO,
where community members engage in one-on-one
conversations with our President and CEO,
Anthony DiCaita.
Partnerships
VCI continued to collaborate with other Italian
organizations and to provide some of them with
financial and other support. In 2019, this included
support for the book launch of “Land of Triumph
and Tragedy: Voices of the Italian Fallen Workers,”
published by the Italian Fallen Workers Memorial
Project, the 2nd Annual Librissimi Book Festival
and Mississauga ITALFEST. We also held a VIP
reception for Mr. Luigi Maria Vignali, Director
General for the Italians Abroad, Italian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and
hosted a special dinner to welcome the international
food brand Eataly to Toronto. VCI gained significant
brand visibility as the Major Sponsor of the Italian
Chamber of Commerce of Ontario’s inaugural
“IT@CA” symposium, featuring Italian academic
and industry leaders. In 2020, we are planning
even more exciting events with industry leaders
and partners in the Italian community.
Looking Ahead: A New Strategic Plan
Work has just been completed on the development
of a new VCI Strategic Plan. The plan, which will
incorporate feedback from numerous stakeholders,
will identify the strategic priorities that will serve as
our roadmap over the next few years. This is an
important step in VCI’s quest to better serve our
diverse community and engage new people of all
ages. I look forward to sharing the new Strategic
Plan at an upcoming Community Open Forum.
As you can see, many hands are involved in the
process of reaffirming VCI’s position as a cultural
leader and destination for multigenerational
Italian-Canadians and the community at large.
Since being elected Chair of VCI’s Board of
Governors almost two years ago, I have come to
have the highest regard for the people responsible
for our progress, among them my fellow Board
members, VCI President and CEO Anthony DiCaita
and his executive team, our staff, patrons and other
key stakeholders. I would like to express my sincere
gratitude to all of them
Sincerely,
Villa Charities Inc.
Santo Veltri
CHAIR
6 | Consolidated Annual Report 2019