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Our Auxiliary was formed in 1948
and we are currently celebrating our 56th Anniversary

The aim of this Auxiliary is to work together with the Societa Caruso within the community and to promote Italian Culture.

Members should always help each other at all times when the occasion arises. We shall always honour our forefathers and country of their birth, but we swear allegiance to the Government of Canada, our Country by birth or adoption.

The Societa Caruso Ladies Auxiliary has been actively involved in the community over the past several decades and accomplished many projects throughout the seasons. Our society has a set agenda and we all follow it as closely as possible. We are currently celebrating our 56th Anniversary as the Auxiliary of the Societa Caruso.

Our main objective in the community is to promote our Italian Culture and Heritage. Our primary source of fundraising is for the Northeastern Ontario Cancer Centre, but we do send donations to other organizations such as the Canadia Diabetes Association, Heart & Stroke, Arthritis Society and many more.

Our ladies work well, hand in hand, with the main membership of the Societa Caruso. The ladies assist and volunteer their time helping out all club functions when asked. The Ladies Auxiliary doesn’t stop at just assisting in physical aspects of our society. We have donated numerous things to our society over the past several years; for example, Office equipment, serving supplies for the kitchen, kitchen equipment, several thousands of dollars donated at the Anniversary Banquets.

Our year of events starts with our Annual Pot Luck Supper. This is held in February and is a great way to bring in new members. Our ladies cook a favorite dish and the Auxiliary offers to our members Polenta and Toccio. This traditional Italian dish is a favorite with our members. We enjoy an evening of friendship, food and then close with our general meeting.

We put many long hours in preparation for our Palm Sunday Tea, hosted annually . This is a popular event within the community. It’s very common to see line ups at the door to get in! Our ladies prepare baking, and also offer homemade pasta, crostoli, sauce and Easter bread for sale. The sewing group works from January until the Tea, making many items for sale. No one can resist the handiwork of our ladies. Then, the month of May quickly approaches and our ladies are very well recognized. Instead of having regular monthly meeting in May, we host a Mother & Daughter Banquet. Every year we honor a woman and/or women in our Auxiliary by presenting them with the Woman of the Year Award. We also honor our newest Life Members. It is an opportunity for members to spend some time together socializing over an exquisite Italian dinner prepared by our chef and to enjoy some light entertainment as well.

Next we prepare for the Italian Festival, held for 4 days with Canada Day kicking off the festivities. This is a fun-filled event that shares our Italian Culture and Heritage with the community. Again, a great deal of preparation and planning is involved for this event. We make Crostoli for sale, baking and working the Caruso Club booth at the Multicultural Celebration on Canada Day and at the Italian Food Fair during the Italian Festival. The Ladies Auxiliary runs the Pesca during the whole 4 days of the Italian Festival.

Once summer has ended and Fall is just around the corner, we finally have a chance to relax for a little while. That is, we can rest until our September meeting when we discuss the Northern Ontario Italian Ladies Auxiliaries Convention and the trip to the hosting club. It is a convention that we are proud to be a part of. It is an exhilarating weekend spent with Auxiliary members from the Italian Auxiliaries of Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins, Copper Cliff, Coniston, and North Bay. It will be a weekend filled with nothing but Italian entertainment, food, history, culture and dance. It is a time where the organizations can get together to discuss ways to promote and share their culture within their own cities and to pool together with ideas on ways to attract new, energetic members.

October brings our Annual Gnocchi & Chicken Dinner. This has always been a very successful event, and a fantastic fundraiser for us.

The Ladies Auxiliary is very proud to be a part of the Societa Caruso and we always look forward to working with them year after year in promoting our Italian Culture and Heritage throughout the community.

January, 2005
4th	Executive Meeting - 7:00 p.m.
11st	General Meeting – 7:300 p.m.

February, 2005
1st	Executive Meeting - 7:00 p.m.
8th	Pot Luck Supper / General Meeting –7:30 p.m.

March, 2005
1st	Executive Meeting - 7:00 p.m.
8th	General Meeting –7:30 p.m.
20th	Palm Sunday Tea 12:00 - 3:00 - $3.00/person
31st	Membership Fees Are Due (in order to keep your membership in good standing)

April, 2005
5th	Executive Meeting - 7:00 p.m.
12th	General Meeting – 7:30 p.m.

May, 2005
3^rd	Executive Meeting - 7:00 p.m.
10^th	Mother & Daughter Banquet 6:00pm

June, 2005
7th	Executive Meeting - 7:00 p.m.
14th	General Meeting – 7:30 p.m. ($50.00 Registration Fees are due if attending Convention)

September, 2005
6th	Executive Meeting - 7:00 p.m.
13th	General Meeting – 7:30 p.m
23-25	N.O.I.L.A. Convention!!! Held in Coniston

October, 2005
4th	Executive Meeting - 7:00 p.m.
11th	General Meeting – 7:30 pm
30th	Gnocchi & Chicken Dinner

November, 2005
1st	Executive Meeting - 7:00 p.m.
8th	General Meeting – 7:30 p.m.

December, 2005
6th	Executive Meeting - 7:00 p.m.
13th	General Assembly Christmas Party 6 pm

Regular Membership in the Auxiliary is available by application to any woman of Italian birth or extraction, of mother or father, sixteen (18) years of age or older.

Associate Membership is available by application to any woman married to an Italian man. She will be entitled to all the rights and benefits of regular membership, but is excluded from holding any of the main offices, such as President, Vice-President, or Italian Secretary, or Treasurer but will be able to hold any other position on the Executive Council.

Club Membership is available by application. Club members may attend meetings and express opinions or join in discussions, or other privileges as deemed appropriate by the Executive Council and General Assembly. They may not hold office or vote.

If you fall into one of the above categories,
we would love to have you join our Society!!!

For more information,
please do not hesitate to contact us at the Caruso Club 675-1357

General Meeting – 7:30 pm

Gnocchi & Chicken Dinner