WELCOME TO THE LOVE FOR GIOVANNI FOUNDATION
ABOUT US
The Love for Giovanni Foundation was created in memory of Giovanni Cipriano. Giovanni was born on August 18, 1999 and gained his angel wings on October 18, 2013 when he unfortunately lost the fight of food allergies.
He was such a beautiful boy. So loving, caring, helpful. Loved life. He is so very much missed by all. His sister is all alone without him. His friends loved him so much.
The one thing that is consistent when they speak of him is how beautiful his smile was, how he was so happy, always goofing off, making everyone laugh; he knew if you were having a bad day he would ask if you were ok and find a way to make you feel better.
He was a star athlete. He was a best friend, great cousin, Uncle. He was the best brother. He was my little boy, my little man. He took care of me, and I took care of him. He was my friend, my partner. He was the reason I did EVERYTHING I did. He was his dad’s pride and joy. To say his dad is lost without him is an understatement.
He was an honor student. He knew to be helpful, to be of service, to be respectful. He knew how to seize the day and run with it.
Giovanni’s loss is felt not just here in our family, in our community, but all over the country. Giovanni’s loss is awful, it is heart wrenching, it doesn’t make sense. If it has taught us one thing, it is that we know we don’t want anyone to ever have to feel the pain that we feel.
OUR MISSION
FOOD ALLERGY AWARENESS & EDUCATION
Our mission is to provide support to all those affected by food allergies and anaphylaxis. We aim to help educate families, caregivers, educators, nurses/physicians and communities regarding the seriousness of food allergies, as well as the importance of always having epinephrine injectors, working deligently to increase their availability in public places. Our goal is to create a global awareness of life threatening food allergies in hopes of preventing another death due to anaphylaxis.
SUPPORT GROUP
FRIENDS HELPING FRIENDS Food Allergy Support Group
We are a FAACT recognized support group -www.FoodAllergyAwareness.org
Through The Love for Giovanni Foundation we have started the FRIENDS HELPING FRIENDS food allergy support group. Our mission is to help promote awareness and education and to support all those in the food allergy community through group meetings, play dates, kid friendly events , etc. Follow us to stay up to date on all future meetings and events. - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1448583488780077/
EDUCATION
Helping The Community
Food Allergies affect approximately more than 32 million Americans. 6 million of which are children. 220 Million people are affected globally. Every 2-3 minutes there is an ER visit due to food induced Anaphylaxis. Over 90,000 ER visits related to food allergies each year in the U.S. These numbers continue to rise. There is no cure for food allergies. Only strict avoidance can prevent an allergic reaction and epinephrine is the only life saving medication available to treat a reaction. Through our educational services we hope to provide parents, schools, community centers, etc. with important information and resources on how to properly manage food allergies, how to notice a reaction, how and when to treat a reaction and most importantly how and when to use the life saving medication Epinephrine.
What We Can Do
Hard work and preserverance pays off. On may 5, 2016, Giovanni's mom made her way to the state capital to share Giovanni's story in hopes that it would help push legislation towards passing a bill that would enable public entities to stock epinephrine injectors. On Sept. 30, 2016 that bill (EATA, S6800 Hannon, A9357 Abinanti) called the Emergency Allergy Treatment Act became a law and was signed by Governor Coumo.
GIO'S LAW
June 18, 2018 Gio's Law became a bill. Gio's Law authorizes emergency responders to carry and administer life-saving epinephrine by use of epinephrine auto-injector device (AEI)
Assemblywoman Melissa Miller (Long Island) was the first legislator that actually helped write the bill with me. Senator Julie Salazar and Assemblywoman Linda Rosental (Manhattan) sponsored the bill.
On December 12, 2019, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo signed "Gio's Law" This will undoubtedly save lives. Our police officers and fire fighters are most often the first to respond to the scence when someone calls 911 due to a life-threatening allergic reaction. It only makes sense to enable first responders to carry Epipens and help saves lives!
ADVOCACY
FOOD ALLERGY SAFETY IN PLAYGROUNDS
On October 1, 2017 The Love for Giovanni Foundation, with the support from Lynbrook Mayor Bill Hendrick, helped ensure the safety of children with food allergies, by placing it's first public safety signs at Greis Park Playground in Lynbrook, NY. Our goal is to see these signs in every public and municipal park, playground and recreation center throughout NY state and better yet, throughout the whole United States. You can help ensure the safety of your children in your area and support our efforts at the same time. Ask us how you can get these signs put in a playground near you. We will be happy to order and ship them to you for a donation to the Love for Giovanni Foundation. Let's make this movement grow.
MAKE A DONATION, SPREAD AWARENESS
We rely on substantial aid from generous people like yourself who care to make a difference. Our Non-Profit Organization depends solely on the generosity of benefactors like you to keep our programs and events running. Thank you for helping us raise funds, every cent you decide to contribute makes a big difference in providing a safer, happier, less stressful environment for those living with food allergies and their families.
"I get by with a little help from my friends."
John Lennon
CONTACT THE LOVE FOR GIOVANNI FOUNDATION
Get in touch with The Love for Giovanni Foundation to learn more about our work and find out how to donate. We appreciate your support!
