Assistant Minority Leader/Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce received the Humanitarian and Presidents Award from the Columbian Foundation on Saturday, October 13. “The Columbian Foundation is a non-profit, 501 (c)(3), charitable organization founded in 1941 by business and professional men of Italian descent. Our primary objectives are to promote the culture and heritage of Italian ethnicity, to enhance the image of people of Italian descent, and to improve the cultural, educational, economic and social welfare of people of our community.

Over the past 75 years, The Columbian Foundation has participated in many works of philanthropy, and we are proud to have donated over a million dollars to various worthy causes during that time. Such efforts include primarily scholarship grants to needy medical students, law school students and college undergrads; contributions to various medical institutions such as hospitals and qualified medical charities; and the establishment of the Italian Institute and the Italian Studies Chair at Seton Hall University to promote teaching of the Italian language, literature and Italian culture and history.