Nazzaro Center Magnificent 7 Re-Boot

Seven extraordinary girls from the Nazzaro Center’s Youth Program showed amazing community spirit and displayed a sense of civic responsibility seldom seen in adults when they took it upon themselves to raise money for the North End fire station that had recently been robbed of their muscular dystrophy fundraising ‘boot’!

Those familiar with the Hanover Street station, Ladder 1, Engine 8, know that the firemen there leave a fire boot out 24 hours a day for the collection of donations towards muscular dystrophy. Apparently, there was a tiny window of opportunity for one or more thieves during the overnight hours one evening and the boot went missing.

It wasn’t made public how much the bandits got away with, but the Nazzaro Center girls, completely on their own, came up with the idea to hold a bake sale at the center during the recent mayoral election (the center is a polling station) and donate whatever they raised to the ‘boot’. Because it was a school day, the sale didn’t kick off until about 3:00 pm and, again, because it was a school night, it ended sometime around 5:30. But before the girls went home for the night, they took the short walk from North Bennet to Hanover Street and presented the station with $85!

The total was irrelevant. That seven girls ranging in age from 8 to 12 could, on their own, come up with such an unselfish, heartfelt act of compassion and carry out their plan with virtually no adult supervision speaks volumes about their morals and upbringing. These seven young ladies, and their parents, should feel proud.

They are, Serina D’Amico, Mattea Del Peschio, Alessia Pantaleo, Victoria Taieb, Isabella Vilar, Brianna Woods and Rebecca Woods.

Article and photos by Carl Ameno.