Photo courtesy of the Di Lorenzo family
“We’re not that healthy; we eat pasta and ice cream every day,” Daniela Di Lorenzo says.
She’s talking about her family’s eating habits. In part due to her upbringing in Salerno, Italy, she cooks a lot. Like, “ice cream every day,” a lot. Like pasta, pizza and eggplant parmesan.
But the food isn’t all for her. Her family – husband Carlo; children Mario, 24; Cristina, 22; Francesca, 20; Valentina, 16; and much-loved yellow lab Dolce – and lucky friends and neighbors get to enjoy the Italian cuisine she always seems to be making.
The key, she says, is sharing – but that’s true for more than just her food. Sure, friends and neighbors likely appreciate homemade lasagna, but Daniela and her family make efforts to share with the community in their work and everyday lives.
When Daniela’s quilting hobby started accumulating a pile of the homemade blankets, she found a way to share that as well.
This past May, she organized a quilt sale at the Philip Heit Center for Healthy New Albany, where she sold about 105 quilts and accepted donations to raise money to combat cystic fibrosis.
“This has been a dream that my mom has never given up on, raising money for finding a cure for (cystic fibrosis),” Valentina says. “I’m just really glad that she’s finally been able to do that and raise the money for it.”
Photo courtesy of the Di Lorenzo family
Daniela quilts in benefit of those with cystic fibrosis, a disease with which Mario was diagnosed at a young age. The pair sold about 105 quilts at an event at the Heit Center in May.
The cause holds a personal weight for the Di Lorenzo family, as Mario was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at a young age. Since then, the family has invested a great deal of time and energy into supporting Mario and ardently supported the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Daniela’s quilts presented an opportunity for her to raise money for others with cystic fibrosis and say thank you to all who have helped to take care of Mario.
“It was very emotional,” Daniela says. “At the end of the day of the quilt sale, I couldn’t stop crying at night because I couldn’t believe it. It was like a dream come true.”
The sale and donations that followed have raised nearly $30,000 for the Section of Pulmonary Medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital to be used for children with cystic fibrosis. The family is quick to note the influence of New Albany to the event’s success.
“Whenever I have people come in from Italy … they are amazed by how beautiful the hospital is and how much support from the community there is,” Carlo says.
Carlo and Daniela moved from the south of Italy to the U.S. around 1990. They moved the family to Columbus roughly 13 years ago and have been in the same New Albany home ever since.
“It’s like being on vacation in New Albany,” Daniela says. “That’s my impression: a constant vacation.”
Photo courtesy of the Di Lorenzo family
Mario and Dolce snuggle up under one of Daniela's quilts
Carlo says New Albany quickly stood out as the place for the family to live when they looked at Columbus. The bike paths and tennis courts were attractive for the active family. Cristina played tennis for Xavier University before graduating this past school year, Francesca currently plays tennis for The Ohio State University, and Valentina plays tennis and lacrosse at New Albany High School. Carlo and Daniela make a point to run regularly, and Dolce appreciates multiple walks a day.
Moving from another country has posed challenges to the Italian natives, most notably the distance from family and friends, whom the Di Lorenzos try to visit at least once a year. Carlo and Daniela say that in the U.S., friends take the role of family to an extent, as people move more here than in Italy.
“I miss, of course, the family, but your neighbors become your family,” Daniela says. “Not having a family, that’s what the community does. They become your family and they support you.”
“It’s like being on vacation in New Albany,” Daniela says. “That’s my impression: a constant vacation.”
The Di Lorenzos also try to keep some of their Italian culture in their lifestyle. The children all speak Italian to varying degrees, the home is decorated with Italian flags and Daniela even teaches the language at Otterbein University.
“It’s in everything we do,” Valentina says. “Every day we’re either speaking the language or my mom is always cooking Italian dishes. In fact, I don’t think she cooks anything other than Italian dishes.”
Of course, they also gladly share their culture with those around them.
For now, Daniela is working to catch up on her quilting. The sale was so successful that it sold 40 more quilts than she had at the time. She’s already considering ways she can repeat the success and give back more.
“You don’t have pleasure just doing for yourself,” Daniela says. “You have to share.”
Cameron Carr is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at adeperro@cityscenemdiagroup.com.
RELATED READS
