By John Tredrea, The Packet Group
The parents of the late Christine Gianacaci, who died at age 22 in the Haiti earthquake Jan. 12 while working to help those in dire need, have started a foundation in her name: Christine’s Hope For Kids.
”It’s our obligation to do this,” said John Gianacaci last week. “We are going to turn a tragedy into a triumph.”
His wife, Jean, added, “This is not something we’ll just do for a year to help us through our grief. It’s a lifelong commitment. Christine’s brother, J.P., has been instrumental in the formation of the foundation.”
The Gianacacis live in Hopewell Township. Ms. GiaNacaci, a graduate of The Lewis School of Princeton, was a student at Lynn University in Florida on a Journey of Hope mission to Haiti when the earthquake struck. The year before, she had made a similar trip to Jamaica.
”I was on the phone with her eight minutes before the earthquake,” Mrs. Gianacaci said. “She said she was overwhelmed by the poverty she had seen that day. ‘This has been the saddest day,’ she said. ‘Tomorrow we’ll work on building a house and painting. That’s what I like to do.’”
The Gianacacis said the parents of all other Lynn students who died in the earthquake also have started foundations.
”We just got back from meeting with the other girls’ parents in Maine,” Mrs. Gianacaci said. “I don’t know how we would have gotten through this without them.”
Christine’s Hope For Kids will focus on helping underprivileged and special-needs youngsters in this area.
”There’s a tremendous need right here, in the surrounding community and the USA,” Mr. Gianacaci said. “It’s not just about raising money. It’s about helping kids. If we can get more people to help others and feel good about doing it, then we’ll have succeeded. That’s the kind of effort Christine was really into. We want to carry on with it.”
Coming up is a special fundraiser at a local business that contacted the Gianacacis. May 8, Rita’s Water Ice on Route 31 in the Pennington Shopping Center, will host it.
”We’ll be there,” Mr. Gianacaci said. “Chris Rollins, the WPST DJ, will be there from 3 to 5 p.m. There’ll be T-shirts, wrist bands and balloons for sale for the benefit of the foundation.”
One goal of the foundation is to help give more Lynn University students a chance to go on the kind of goodwill journeys Ms. Gianacaci made.
”We’ll team with Lynn on that,” Mrs. Gianacaci said. “It costs $1,700 to make these trips. Students have to pay their own way, and not all of them who would like to go can afford that. The students who make these trips have life-altering experiences. To go and help people, including children, in a very impoverished place does that for you.”
Mr. Gianacaci said, “We don’t have Christine anymore. Our hearts will be forever broken, but through the good we will do with this foundation and helping children, we will keep her generous sprit alive. We know she’s watching over us and guiding our steps as we try to do this.”
The Gianacacis extend gratitude to people from all over who have contacted them about their daughter since the earthquake hit.
”Thanks to the countless people throughout the community, state of New Jersey and our great country for their thoughts and prayers,” Mrs. Gianacaci said.
”It’s during tragic times that you really understand the value of your community,” her husband said.
The Gianacacis said their daughter stressed it was vitally important for her to go to Haiti. In an e-mail she sent to Zach Walker, one of her advisors at Lynn, just before she left for the island, she thanked him for helping her participate in the Food for Poor missions to Haiti and Jamaica.
”Mr. Walker shared that e-mail with us after we learned Christine was missing,” Mr. Gianacaci said. “Christine said these trips were important to her. She said the smallest things, like blowing bubbles in a child’s face and making that child smile, were worth everything. She said she wished everyone had a chance to go on these trips and make a difference in a child’s life.”
To find out more, go to www.christineshope.com.
