On December 12, 2017, tragedy struck Cristina Schiavone, as well as the rest of the Schiavone family, as they were forced to deal with the loss of someone very close to them. Cristina’s father, Jimmy Schiavone, died from cancer related to 9/11. On Sunday, March 11, the Italian Club sponsored a bowling fundraiser to raise money for the Schiavone family. $20 tickets were sold in advance for three hours of bowling, shoe rental, pizza, and beverages. The event lasted from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm at Farmingdale Lanes. Thanks to the 110 people who bought tickets to show their support and all of those who have given generous donations, The Italian Club has managed to raise just over $1,500 which is triple the amount of their $500 goal. Some attendees brought donations for raffles which included clothing, gift cards, swimming lessons, etc. ranging in value of $15 – $500. However, most people who had attended weren’t interested in taking any of the prizes. They vocalized that after all, they weren’t there to win raffles, but instead to show support for the Schiavone family and to celebrate the life of Jimmy Schiavone. Mr. Rosillo stated, “It was a group of such different people, but everyone was connected.”

Overall, the fundraiser was clearly a huge success. The Schiavone family was extremely appreciative of those who had put in the massive amount of effort to set up this fundraiser, including Mr. Rosillo, Kyle Yodice, Rebecka Verzeni-Piaca, John Breitfeller, Jenna Aluska, Venesca Pennington, and the rest of the Italian Club. Cristina had said, “I think it was amazing how everyone came together to support my family. I didn’t think that many people cared enough to do this for me. It’s just a nice thing that the school did for me and I’m very thankful.”

If you’re interested in supporting cancer research organizations, here are a few foundations you can check out!

• Cancer Research Institute (New York, N.Y.)
• Prevent Cancer Foundation (Alexandria,Va)
• American Cancer Society (Atlanta, GA)