(Note: this is an article that was written for the Teamsters TradeShow Newsletter. I believe that the information has a universal appeal and wanted to share with as many folks as possible).
Mike Guglielmo, a former Boston convention center worker, reached out to Teamster Local 82 when he found out his newborn son Giovanni was battling a rare and lethal disease that would require bone marrow to survive. New England Teamsters and other unions in the area took heed to the call - in a big way.
"When we went to the union, we didn't go looking for money. We net asking they'd sponsor a bone marrow drive," Guglielmo said. With so few people donating blood or bone marrow in the United States, there were just no matches in the national registry to help Giovanni.
Guglielmo spearheaded bone marrow drives which put 12.001 new donors into the national registry. Teamsters Locals 82, 25, and 122; Sheet Metal Workers Local 17; and LiUNA Local 22 rallied together when news spread that Baby Giovanni would need a transplant or die before he was 1 year old.
"To date, we have had nine other matches and 300 potential life-saving matches stemming from the bone marrow drives done in Giovanni's name," Guglielmo said. "But we still need more!"
There are thousands of people, mainly children, who do not live beyond age 1 or 2 because there are simply not enough donor matches in the registry to help. But when working people need to get something done, they come together and create change rather than waiting on others to step in.
"Thanks to Mike and union brothers and sisters like him, lives are actually being saved," said John Perry, Director of the Trade Show and Convention Centers Division and Secretary-Treasurer of South Boston's Local 82.
Guglielmo, who previously did carpentry and trade show work, is now in gear to spend the rest of his life on this issue. He is beginning to take the lead on starting bone marrow and blood drives with the Red Cross set up around the United States in Giovanni's name so that more kids can get a shot at life.
Guglielmo said that this has become a blue collar working person's fight to save lives, especially in New England. This is why he wants Teamsters around the country to donate bone marrow and give blood; get in the national registry and have locals set up future drives. He is willing and able to help with a drive and to tell the story of how the Teamsters helped save his baby boy's life.
Every Teamster has the opportunity to help Baby Giovanni's mission to save more children. Guglielmo said it takes less than 20 minutes to get the process under way.
To learn how you can be part of this Teamster-drive, life-saving mission, write directly to Guglielmo at
mguglielmo@helpgiovanniguglielmo.org. Make sure you click on the "Unions Saving Giovanni's Friends" button to see Teamsters in action.
"Teamsters should be aware of the fact that the union locals in New England stood up for my family when so few would. They should know that the local unions in the area helped save my son and our home," he said.
New England Teamsters Help Save Child's Life
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