CRAMERTON, N.C. — The parents of a 4-year-old who drowned in Cramerton are making Christmas a little brighter for hundreds of children in Gaston County.
On Saturday, children selected by area churches can come to City Church in Gastonia and shop for what they want thanks to the family of Gio Zappitelli.
His parents say their son would smile knowing they are doing this.
They say Gio often saved his birthday money to buy gifts or ingredients to bake gifts for others. He would eagerly wait for the moment they opened their gifts, too.
“He would say, ‘Does that make your heart happy,’” said Gio’s mother Jennifer Zappitelli.
His parents say Gio was a gift to them. Sadly, he drowned in the pool at Cramer Mountain Club.
“It was a nightmare,” Jennifer Zappitelli said.
“There’s tears every day. It’s never going to be easy,” his father Anthony Zappitelli said. “He was the center of our life and our firstborn child.”
The couple decided to focus on Gio’s giving spirit.
“You have to focus on something. You can’t just sit in bed and cry,” Anthony Zappitelli said.
It started with a toy drive where they collected $200,000 worth of toys and some clothes.
“We want to do the things we believe he would have physically done times ten,” Jennifer Zappitelli said.
The toy collection is just part of the new GIO Foundation, which will also offer an online learning platform for children and food and clothing drives.
The Zappitellis are determined to change lives the way they say their son continues to change theirs after their tragic loss.
“Without this tragedy, we wouldn’t be here right now,” Anthony Zappitelli said. “I know he’s with us and I know he’s so pumped.”
They say the goal is to make the toy drive five times bigger next year because Gio liked to do things big so that anyone sad has a reason to smile.
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