Founded in 1952, the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans (JCCIA) serves as a congress for the Chicagoland Italian American organizations and represents the community on a local, state, national and international level. The JCCIA is dedicated to its heritage and promoting the Italian American community. One of its main goals is to assist young Italian Americans through education. The JCCIA gives away numerous scholarships to promote the advancement of students. The organization also leads fundraising efforts to worthy causes like the Amatrice Earthquake and spearheads volunteer efforts. The JCCIA is well known for the Dante/Mazzei Award luncheon. Since 1971 the Dante Award has been awarded to more than 40 journalists, and since 2014, the Filippo Mazzei Award has been given to a person who shows extraordinary skills in the world of public affairs. In addition, the Columbus Day Parade, Columbus Day Queen Contest and the Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Humanitarian of the Year Award are well known annual JCCIA events. The JCCIA has a Women’s Division and Young Professionals Division.