@pgv_mantova @italyindetroit @societadantealighieri
Voluntaritaly 2026 @dantemichigan e @fondazioneoratorimilanesi – Thank you all – until the 2027 edition.
In 2016, a simple idea was born: to give young American students an authentic experience in Italy, among host families, summer oratories, and volunteer work. Ten years later, that idea, which became VoluntarItaly, is celebrating its tenth anniversary.
The program was born from a collaboration between the Dante Alighieri Society of Michigan and the Oratori della Lombardia, and over time it has grown into something more than a cultural exchange: a true bridge between the United States and Italy, built on service, hospitality, and lasting relationships.
The numbers tell only part of the story: more than 400 American university students have taken part, spending three or six weeks with Italian families and working alongside the counselors at summer oratories. But anyone who has lived this experience knows it goes beyond statistics. For many, it was a chance to make real progress with Italian, to form friendships that survived the return home, to discover communities they would never otherwise have known.
An anniversary this significant is also the right occasion to say thank you. To the universities that over the years have believed in this project, promoting it among their students and collaborating in selecting participants: without their support, VoluntarItaly would not have grown as it has.
And thank you to the professors, the coordinators of Italian language programs, the families who opened their homes, the Oratori della Lombardia, and all the volunteers who, year after year, made all of this possible through their commitment.
The future of VoluntarItaly starts here, with the same enthusiasm as the very first day: to keep offering young people an authentic immersion in Italian culture and to keep alive the values of volunteering and mutual understanding.
To everyone who has been part of these first ten years, we simply say thank you, with gratitude.
The journey continues, toward new encounters, new experiences, new friendships.
