Our Founder & Board

A message from our founder, Sam Mercanti

“Hope has made a difference in our life. Now it’s time to bring hope to others”.

My parents, siblings, and I immigrated to Canada from Italy in 1956. The main reason that my parents
decided to do this was to create a better opportunity and lifestyle for their children. We moved to a
very small house in Hamilton, Ontario located in the north end of the city. Life was hard for my
parents, but with their determination and hard work, we established a good life. Along with my
brothers and sister, I was always taught to work hard, to give back to those in need, and to never give
up hope for the future.

The concept of this charity started amongst our friends at our local YMCA. After some of our feisty
handball games, we would collect $5 dollars from everyone and donate it to a child or a family that
was in need. Then we started a bank account and began to help with requests through word of
mouth. The first child we helped was an underprivileged immigrant girl who was in need of a pair of
boots for winter. It seemed very small, but not to her. We gave her more than just a pair of boots. We
gave her a ray of hope that someone cares and the assurance that the world is filled with good
people.

We finally decided to make this charity official and give it a name: “The Charity of Hope”. It is our goal
to increase the size of the charity each year so we can help more children in need.

Together we can make a difference and bring a little ray of hope to a lot of children.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.

Sam Mercanti, Charity of Hope Founder

Charity of Hope Board:

Sam Mercanti – Ex-Officio
Daniele Dagenais – Ex-Officio
Jennifer Mercanti – Chair
Erik Ferrara – Vice-Chair
George Lamparski – Secretary/Treasurer
Lisa Mercanti-Ladd – Director
Dennis Concordia – Director
PJ Mercanti – Director
Michael Macaluso – Director
Julie Lamparski – Director
Andrea Gordon – Director
Guy D’Alesio – Director
Sid Stacey – Director
Jennifer Stebbing – Director
Francesca Rollo – Director