Running for Pencils of Promise

Hi friends,

I wanted to reach out to ask for your support as I’ll be running the New York City Marathon on Sunday Nov 7th with my good friend Alessandro Cerase and Pencils of Promise.

While some of you may remember, Alessandro is the father of Tommy who sadly passed away in a very tragic accident while practicing soccer 4yrs ago with my son Alberto. Tommy was the sweetest, most loving, witty and caring son any parent could have dreamt of. He deeply cared about others, loved to make them feel welcome, had an amazing sense of humor and was the life of our friends Barbara & Alessandro. There are no words to describe the pain that his parents suffered, and how devastated they were by his loss.

But over the years, I’ve seen them get up & fight, take many steps to make sure that no other child followed Tommy’s fate and see that his memory remains alive in the hearts of all those who we had the chance to meet & love him. That’s why I’m here today. Tommy was a caring & thoughtful young boy who’s love for others showed in many different ways, and one of them was to promote the idea of an equal opportunity for children to access quality education. Pencils of Promise does just that (see pencilsofpromise.org), that’s why I would like to ask your support to raise funds for this very special cause. Tommy would have loved the idea, and I would like to have as many of you as possible, rally behind this very special cause.

Thanks for your support, I look forward to seeing many of you on race day!