Joining the Sons and Daughters of Italy Lodge 2805 began as a family affair for Mark DeFranco. Mark, the group’s treasurer, who joined in 2004 to be with his cousin and the group’s founder Neil Velleca, Sr., saw it as an opportunity to socialize and work with other Italian-Americans.

“My cousin, Neil Sr., thought it would be a great idea to have a Sons and Daughter chapter in North Haven,” Mark says. “I’ve been in there since the beginning. I’ve been the treasurer the whole time, the whole 19 years. I think because it’s quite a bit of work.”

Quite a bit of work it is, indeed. As treasurer, Mark takes on numerous financial responsibilities to keep the Lodge up and running, and enough for it to hold the events they hold every year.

“Basically, keeping [an] account of our savings account, checking account,” he said. “Writing checks, keeping track of money coming in. Monitoring our savings. We also have a small annuity that we keep track of. I make a report every month to the membership as to what our savings account is.”

Fortunately for Mark, he is not alone in the monetary matters of the Lodge, receiving assistance from Financial Secretary Regina Najarian and the Lodge’s accountant.

“Every year, we do a budget, which means we project how much money we have coming in, how much money we have coming, how much money we can donate to charity,” Mark says.

Mark says the Lodge’s bylaw states that for every profit that they make, 50 percent of what is made needs to go to a charitable foundation of their choice. With Mark’s help in the financial sphere, the organization has donated to national charities, but he says they try to give back to the community more often. In recent weeks, Mark says the Lodge has donated to the town’s Food Bank and the Fuel Assistance program facilitated by Community Services while also providing financial support to local organizations for research into epilepsy and Alzheimer’s.

“Even in years when we didn’t make money, we still donate to charities. It didn’t stop us before.”

It’s all about providing for and being with the community with donations and the events that the Lodge holds, one of the highest values as seen by Mark by the Lodge. Italian-themed movie nights, horse racing board games, and car shows are some of the small but impactful events the Lodge holds for its members.

While engaging with the community comes through the cultural and historical angle of the Lodge, another key part of Mark’s role with the group.

“[We] promote Italian culture, the rich culture of Italy, and get people to recognize that,” he said. “Last year was the first time we did an Italian heritage week. During Christopher Columbus week, we did lectures. We did cooking demonstrations, stuff like that. Just kind of promote Italian culture locally.”

Mark views an integral part of sharing and celebrating Italian culture as related to a broader American experience that most in the country could relate to, and in the case of Lodge members, particularly if their families came from the peninsular Southern European nation.

“Our ancestors were immigrants, and they came to this country, I’d say, mostly 100 years ago,” he says. “It’s such a deep culture.”

Mark has been to the home of his ancestors three times and has been to the southeastern administrative region of Campania, a place that is recognizable for many of the Lodge’s members and other Italian-Americans in the area.

“Many people who live in this area, a lot of them trace their heritage to the Campania region, the Naples region,” Mark says. “They share a common heritage; they celebrate the same holidays, like the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve. Hopefully, someday, [I hope] to try to trace my Italian heritage from that area.”

The Campania region is known for its rich history and attractive tourist destinations, with sites including the Amalfi Coast and the ancient Greek-style cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, both well-known for their ruin by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.

The greatest joy Mark gets from his time with the Lodge is derived from the reason why he joined in the first place: as a place to connect with family and friends through a shared heritage.

“My coterie of friends is a lot larger than it used to be,” he says.

Being that food is a central part of Italian culture, it is always an entertaining, but additionally, educational, pleasure for Mark to see what his friends at the Lodge are, literally, bringing to the table.

“Everyone’s got a different recipe for something, like anginettes, or whatever kind of cake they’re making, or the way they fry their cutlets, you learn stuff like that,” he said. “It’s nice hanging around people who are nice and have common interests.”

Membership in the Lodge is not exclusive to local Italian-Americans, however. Mark says the Lodge is always looking for new people to help give back to the community and who would like to be in a family-oriented group with whom to socialize.

“Local civic organizations are having a hard time finding people [to join], and I understand. If you’re in your 40s, late 30s, [your] kids are going to band practice, soccer practice, PTA meetings, it’s hard for people to want to join,” he says. “We always try to get new members. It’s hard getting people in that 40 to 50 range, but we are a social organization that raises for charity. That’s basically what we do.”