Getting to Know Sara Gambino
The Federation of Italian American Organizations’ in-house social worker who is celebrating 25 years of service!
Sara Gambino first came to the United States in 1984 from Torreta, Sicily. She started a family and dreamed of becoming an American citizen.
When asked how she first learned about the Federation, she vividly remembers going to the original office looking to get assistance in becoming a citizen, all the while being timid and coming from another country and not knowing the language very well. She remembers how welcoming and helpful the Federation was toward her and her family and will never forget how grateful she was. Learning more about the Federation and after getting to know Nancy Sottile, Sara was inspired by her own journey into becoming a citizen, aspiring her to help others on their same journey.
In 1995, Sara officially started working at the Federation taking clients and helping them with all their needs from citizenship, assistance with government documents, passport renewal guidance, translation of documents, health insurance, and government assistance applications. Everyday that she takes clients, her goal is to make sure her clients leave happy, that all their questions are answered to the best of her ability, and be as helpful and sensitive to everyone’s situation as possible all the while remembering her initial experience and feelings she had when she was on the other side of the desk. Every client she helps is unique with their own story and experience. At times assisting can be a challenge with language barriers or long wait times with governmental agencies, but once she successfully aids them in their goals, she sees how happy and grateful her clients become which gives her an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment and fulfillment.
On November 13th, 2017 the Federation of Italian American Organizations moved to their new location at Il Centro. When asked how it feels to work in this new location, Sara excitedly states, “It’s such a beautiful office space and feels more organized. The environment is more alive with many children, families, and seniors coming around and I am now able to help even more diverse people of the community.” She hopes that this will only be the beginning of the expanded growth of the Federation with more clients and a larger outreach throughout the community.
Il Centro may not be open yet for getting a good workout, but we are open to help our community neighbors with any social services needs you may have, so come visit Sara Gambino in the Il Centro office!
