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Where corporate culture meets charitable works

By Bill Kirk
Business Editor
Published: May 18, 2008

LAWRENCE — As Sal Lupoli's restaurant and real estate businesses have grown, so has his work with local charities.

Most recently, Lupoli launched the Lawrence Citizenship Initiative, an organization his company is partially funding to help legal immigrants become American citizens more quickly and less expensively.

His initial investment in the pilot project is $2,500 to help 10 employees of Lupoli's restaurants, but the long-term goal is to expand the reach of the initiative to help immigrants around the Merrimack Valley, the rest of Massachusetts and beyond.

And it's just one of several charitable efforts Lupoli has been involved with since buying his first building in Lawrence five years ago.

Susan Legere-Ferraro, founder of Little Sprouts, a chain of early childhood education centers with its headquarters and a school at Sal's Riverwalk complex in Lawrence, has worked closely with Lupoli on a host of charitable efforts.

"Susan has educated me on the philanthropic side of corporate responsibility," Lupoli said.

Legere-Ferraro drew Lupoli into co-sponsoring the Leadership & Literacy Foundation, which helps train children and adults in reading and job skills. In fact, it was Legere-Ferraro who recently worked to procure a $162,000 state work-force investment grant to train 213 of Lupoli's workers in Lean Manufacturing principles, sales and marketing, strategic planning, and advanced project- and time-management skills.

"Susan is not only a huge asset to her own company, but ours as well," Lupoli said in a prepared statement issued by his company. "Her assistance in this endeavor was critical to the success of receiving the grant."

For her part, Legere-Ferraro noted, "Leadership & Literacy is honored to be part of the groundbreaking advanced job training that will take place with the work-force development funds. Sal's investment in his people to improve their quality of life and grow his business is an economic model that should be replicated by all true social entrepreneurs."

Lupoli and Legere-Ferraro have collaborated on other projects, too.

They are working together to reduce inmate recidivism by offering training and employment opportunities to people recently released from jail.

"It was Susan's idea to help people coming out of prison to find jobs," Lupoli said. "We want to get these people back into the mainstream of society."

Another organization that Legere-Ferraro has worked with is Debbie's Treasure Chest, a nonprofit organization that collects toys and clothes for children entering the foster care system. Lupoli donated 2,000 square feet of space to the organization for storage at 354 Merrimack St.

"He charges them nothing," Legere-Ferraro said. "I tell him, 'Dude, you are going to get into heaven and back again.'"

Legere-Ferraro said Lupoli's work on behalf of the less fortunate, but especially children, is huge.

"I am not exaggerating," she said. "Anything I ask him to do, he does. If it's for kids, you ask him and he does it."

Legere-Ferraro also started an indoor family play center adjacent to her Little Sprouts location at Riverwalk, which she called Imajine That. Lupoli, an investor in the enterprise, has sponsored a number of charitable events at the facility.

"He has the heart of nobility," Legere-Ferraro said. "He's a good businessman, but he's in this world to something better. He has the potential to make a huge impact."