CFF in the News
RAY CICCOLO: Driven to succeed, and to pass along that success
This article appeared in Suffolk University Magazine, Fall 2022
This article appeared in Suffolk University Magazine, Fall 2022
Auto dealer Raymond Ciccolo is a ‘lucky man’
This piece was published by boston.com on August 15th, 2015
This piece was published by boston.com on August 15th, 2015
It Takes a Village
By Thomas Gearty
This article appeared in Suffolk Alumni Magazine, Winter 2007
On a trip to France years ago, Ray Ciccolo ’59 found himself stuck in a small town on a rainy day without his wallet, passport, money – or his umbrella. With no ID and only the clothes on his back, Ciccolo couldn’t get help from a bank or American Express office. Since he didn’t speak French, he was handicapped finding assistance elsewhere.
Ciccolo is not someone who lacks resourcefulness. He’s the owner and CEO of the Village Automotive Group, which includes the largest Volvo, Saab, Cadillac and Hummer dealerships in New England. He also runs Ciccolo Property Trust, a real estate development company in the Greater Boston area. His entire life stands out as a record of achievement through hard work and self-reliance.
But that day in France, he was just a stranded tourist without options – until a stranger overheard Ciccolo’s story and, guiding him to am ATM, handed him enough money to make it through the day. “Through his broken English he said, ‘The same thing happened to me in Italy, and an American gave me money,’” Ciccolo recounts. “And here he was giving it back many years later.”
The gesture echoed advice Ciccolo got from his father that he has tried to follow in life and business: always treat others as you would like to be treated. It’s the same generous spirit that inspired Ciccolo to establish a Centennial Scholarship at Suffolk this fall. His $100,000 gift honors Suffolk’s past through a named scholarship that will provide critical financial aid to its future students.
For a man who worked and paid his own way through college, the Centennial Scholarship is a perfect way to give back. “I had the most menial jobs anybody could have,” he says. “I worked at the Ritz-Carlton as a bottle breaker. All I did was break glass whiskey bottles into a big barrel.”
While other students did their homework and got a good night’s sleep, Ciccolo returned home late at night exhausted from his job as a human trash compactor, covered in glass and smelling of liquor. Keeping up in school was a challenge, to say the least – and he hopes his gift will enable someone like him to make it through college. “My experience taught me to see the positives in the kids whose circumstance are different,” Ciccolo said.
Ciccolo didn’t let his circumstances hold him back. After Suffolk, he sold a stake in a Laundromat to purchase a failing Newton car dealership that he transformed over the next five decades into a New England leader. Today, his business is known for both its cars and its strong family values.
And now, after working hard to get through school, Ciccolo finds that success at work has led him back to Suffolk. In addition to endowing the scholarship, he’s a member of the University’s new Board of Visitors, and he recently presented a case study on Village Automotive Group to a class at the Sawyer Business School. “That’s a lot of fun,” he says.
In 2007, Village Automotive’s Volvo and Saab businesses are each celebrating their 50th birthdays. Naturally, philanthropy features prominently in Ciccolo’s plans to commemorate the twin milestones, including a new program that will encourage teens to work hard in high school by offering them a chance to win a car.
It’s a great way to go through life,” Ciccolo says of giving back. “No matter what happens to you, you’ll always be happy.”
By Thomas Gearty
This article appeared in Suffolk Alumni Magazine, Winter 2007
On a trip to France years ago, Ray Ciccolo ’59 found himself stuck in a small town on a rainy day without his wallet, passport, money – or his umbrella. With no ID and only the clothes on his back, Ciccolo couldn’t get help from a bank or American Express office. Since he didn’t speak French, he was handicapped finding assistance elsewhere.
Ciccolo is not someone who lacks resourcefulness. He’s the owner and CEO of the Village Automotive Group, which includes the largest Volvo, Saab, Cadillac and Hummer dealerships in New England. He also runs Ciccolo Property Trust, a real estate development company in the Greater Boston area. His entire life stands out as a record of achievement through hard work and self-reliance.
But that day in France, he was just a stranded tourist without options – until a stranger overheard Ciccolo’s story and, guiding him to am ATM, handed him enough money to make it through the day. “Through his broken English he said, ‘The same thing happened to me in Italy, and an American gave me money,’” Ciccolo recounts. “And here he was giving it back many years later.”
The gesture echoed advice Ciccolo got from his father that he has tried to follow in life and business: always treat others as you would like to be treated. It’s the same generous spirit that inspired Ciccolo to establish a Centennial Scholarship at Suffolk this fall. His $100,000 gift honors Suffolk’s past through a named scholarship that will provide critical financial aid to its future students.
For a man who worked and paid his own way through college, the Centennial Scholarship is a perfect way to give back. “I had the most menial jobs anybody could have,” he says. “I worked at the Ritz-Carlton as a bottle breaker. All I did was break glass whiskey bottles into a big barrel.”
While other students did their homework and got a good night’s sleep, Ciccolo returned home late at night exhausted from his job as a human trash compactor, covered in glass and smelling of liquor. Keeping up in school was a challenge, to say the least – and he hopes his gift will enable someone like him to make it through college. “My experience taught me to see the positives in the kids whose circumstance are different,” Ciccolo said.
Ciccolo didn’t let his circumstances hold him back. After Suffolk, he sold a stake in a Laundromat to purchase a failing Newton car dealership that he transformed over the next five decades into a New England leader. Today, his business is known for both its cars and its strong family values.
And now, after working hard to get through school, Ciccolo finds that success at work has led him back to Suffolk. In addition to endowing the scholarship, he’s a member of the University’s new Board of Visitors, and he recently presented a case study on Village Automotive Group to a class at the Sawyer Business School. “That’s a lot of fun,” he says.
In 2007, Village Automotive’s Volvo and Saab businesses are each celebrating their 50th birthdays. Naturally, philanthropy features prominently in Ciccolo’s plans to commemorate the twin milestones, including a new program that will encourage teens to work hard in high school by offering them a chance to win a car.
It’s a great way to go through life,” Ciccolo says of giving back. “No matter what happens to you, you’ll always be happy.”
It Takes a Village
by Meredith Spencer
This article appeared in the Summer 2008 edition of Massachusetts Auto Dealer.
Ray Ciccolo and his wife, Grace, fund a group home for Chinese orphans. Late this spring, Ciccolo spent 10 days traveling through rural China to see his philanthropic efforts realized.
Ray Ciccolo, president of Village Automotive Group, added another village to his lineup recently. This one doesn't sell Volvos or Hondas. This one, more than 7,000 miles away, is a foster care center for 24 orphans in Yulin, China. Ciccolo visited the region earlier this year to meet the children he's helping - mostly older kids and those with special needs unlikely to get adopted.
"Not only did he give the money, but he made a real effort to go and see those kids,” said Filis Casey, executive director of the Alliance for Children Foundation. The village was a joint effort between Ciccolo and the Wellesley-based adoption agency. Ciccolo and his wife, Grace, are members of the agency's board of directors.
The Chinese government donates the apartment-style buildings where the children live; six in each apartment with a mother and father, four bedrooms and a sense of family that is a welcome change from impersonal, institutional orphanages.
Ciccolo's donations go toward providing food, medical care and educational services (including music and dance classes) for the children, as well as a stipend for their foster parents. The Ciccolo Family Sunbeam Village opened a few weeks prior to his arrival.
Yulin is located in China's northern Shaaxni province. Travel often required spending half the day in a van winding through back roads in the countryside.
During the trip Ciccolo visited a Sunbeam Village sponsored by Proctor and Gamble that opened six months earlier to get a sense of what his namesake building will look like in time. There he drew his share of young admirers.
He also met with Casey and government officials about planning future villages. The government has agreed to continue to make buildings available as long as there is funding. Each child's expenses range between $600 and $1,000 annually.
Casey has overseen the development of five Sunbeam Villages since 2001, initiated to help children who got "left behind." She has since seen several of those children adopted after receiving medical care and family love in the village program.
Casey says she was impressed with Ciccolo's energy and curiosity.
"He got up at five o'clock every morning. He likes to see everything,” she said of Ciccolo's impromptu morning trips to local markets and schools. "He got to see China as it really is, not as a tourist."
Those interested in learning more about the Alliance for Children and its programs should visit http://www.afcfoundation.org/
by Meredith Spencer
This article appeared in the Summer 2008 edition of Massachusetts Auto Dealer.
Ray Ciccolo and his wife, Grace, fund a group home for Chinese orphans. Late this spring, Ciccolo spent 10 days traveling through rural China to see his philanthropic efforts realized.
Ray Ciccolo, president of Village Automotive Group, added another village to his lineup recently. This one doesn't sell Volvos or Hondas. This one, more than 7,000 miles away, is a foster care center for 24 orphans in Yulin, China. Ciccolo visited the region earlier this year to meet the children he's helping - mostly older kids and those with special needs unlikely to get adopted.
"Not only did he give the money, but he made a real effort to go and see those kids,” said Filis Casey, executive director of the Alliance for Children Foundation. The village was a joint effort between Ciccolo and the Wellesley-based adoption agency. Ciccolo and his wife, Grace, are members of the agency's board of directors.
The Chinese government donates the apartment-style buildings where the children live; six in each apartment with a mother and father, four bedrooms and a sense of family that is a welcome change from impersonal, institutional orphanages.
Ciccolo's donations go toward providing food, medical care and educational services (including music and dance classes) for the children, as well as a stipend for their foster parents. The Ciccolo Family Sunbeam Village opened a few weeks prior to his arrival.
Yulin is located in China's northern Shaaxni province. Travel often required spending half the day in a van winding through back roads in the countryside.
During the trip Ciccolo visited a Sunbeam Village sponsored by Proctor and Gamble that opened six months earlier to get a sense of what his namesake building will look like in time. There he drew his share of young admirers.
He also met with Casey and government officials about planning future villages. The government has agreed to continue to make buildings available as long as there is funding. Each child's expenses range between $600 and $1,000 annually.
Casey has overseen the development of five Sunbeam Villages since 2001, initiated to help children who got "left behind." She has since seen several of those children adopted after receiving medical care and family love in the village program.
Casey says she was impressed with Ciccolo's energy and curiosity.
"He got up at five o'clock every morning. He likes to see everything,” she said of Ciccolo's impromptu morning trips to local markets and schools. "He got to see China as it really is, not as a tourist."
Those interested in learning more about the Alliance for Children and its programs should visit http://www.afcfoundation.org/