As Italian Heritage Month comes to a close, so does our annual #SiamoNOI membership campaign. We challenged you to post photo or video of yourself with an Italian woman who inspires you. Using the hashtag #SiamoNOI and tagging @NOIAW qualified you for new membership or renewal at 50% off.

We were touched by the number of meaningful posts shared with us, so we are sharing a select few below! Look out for more submissions in future blog posts as well!

New member Amelia Castelli sent in these whimsical images:

“My photo is a collage of me and my Nonna playing around with SnapChat. She is hilarious; we have a blast when I go home to Cleveland to visit her. She always makes me feel like she is so proud of me, my accomplishments and most importantly of how I am as a mom now. I absolutely love and adore her. Not a day goes by that I don’t call her to say ‘Ciao Bella!!!'”

New member Lynne DeRentis shared this photo with us via email:

“Carla is a wonderful, kind person who shares and embraces my love of all things Italian. She inspires me everyday by her small and significant acts of kindness that she exhibits daily with everyone that she encounters.”

Mary Fiamingo shared her family photo on Facebook:

“I posted a picture of me with my mom and aunts. 1st generation Italian woman who went through the Depression.”

Via Instagram, Joyce DiCamillo gave recognition to her sister:

“My sister Gloria Sinaguglia is an inspiration to me daily; life without her is unimaginable!”

Another new member, Paula Foye, shared this image of her and her mother:

“This picture is my mom, Mary Bertoncini, a strong but gentle woman who encouraged me to follow my dreams and was a true inspiration in my life.”

On Facebook, Dawn Galietti Kaplan shared a lovely moment between her and her grandmother:

“My photo is of myself and my grandmother Antoinette Galietti. I lived my early years with her in Brooklyn. Her influence inspired me as a young woman in immeasurable ways and does so until today. There is not a holiday that goes by that I don’t incorporate a dish she taught me to cook.”

On Facebook, member Maria Lisella shared this picture in her family home:

“Luckily I have been surrounded by inspirational women all my life: grandmother, mother, sisters, cousins and friends … and I continue to be inspired by them more than by any public figures who may seem like heroines and have done heroic things. Sometimes the most heroic events are those of everyday life; these women feed me all the time. I could think of others who do the same by their work, poets like Maria Mazziotti Gillan and others … but also the men in my life.”

Member Alvina Long honored her mother in her email submission:

“My mother, Rita Enrica Chiarel De Lazzari, who pushed me to achieve my dreams.”

Maria Mariani emailed us with a picture from a special day:

“This is me and my daughter at her wedding this Oct 1st, 2016 in Brooklyn at the Green Building. It was an Italian themed wedding. The wedding favors were bottles of Italian olive oil, oil that I carried back from Italy from my family’s oliveti in Puglia.”

On Instagram, young professional Melissa Nocco highlighted her appreciation for her mother:

“Truly don’t think I could get through a single day without my mamma. Or her Sunday gravy.”

New member Sara Piccini shared this image and her rich family history with us:

“My grandmother Giulia Centofante is one of the most resilient and strong people I know. The photo was taken in Vicenza, outside of a copper artisan shop that my family has owned since the 1800s.”

On Instagram, student Cristina Pietromonaco posted a memory of her and her mother abroad:

“The Italian American woman who inspires me is my mother. She is the one who took me and my family to Italy and passes down all Italian traditions. In the picture above, we were in Sicily at the Greek Theater!”

Allison Scola posted with #siamonoi on Twitter:

“I have been so inspired by Danielle Oteri of @feastonhistory for her courage and encouragement! She is a woman entrepreneur like me, and she encouraged me to go out on my own over 3 years ago. Her passion and smarts have inspired me, and she has been a voice of reason and encouragement as I’ve grown my business. She has been a great confidant and a fantastic supporter. Our mutual admiration and advisement has been invaluable as I walk this journey of starting and growing a business. I’ve encouraged her to join NOIAW!”

Artist Annamaria Trombetta posted her inspirations on Facebook:

“My two Favorite Italian Females- Artists-Artemisia Gentileschi and Sofonisba Anguissola. Two women who made names for themselves in the Artwork literally centuries ago. My heroines!!!!!!!!”

On Facebook, author and member Gilda Morina Syverson shared a cheerful picture with her mother:

“My mother, Mary Morina, was the first person to support my creative life, as artist and writer, and still does!”