Support for Nico keeps on going
Carnival Day is latest fundraiser for injured Seaford teen
Ever since Seaford High School student Nico Fiorello was injured in a swimming accident in May, the community has come through for him time and time again. Last week, Seaford Recreation held its annual Carnival Day fundraiser, with all proceeds going to Fiorello for his medical expenses.
The recreation program, held at the Seaford Manor School, is run by district teachers Bill Dietz and Ralph Pascarella. They both had Fiorello as a student, and as an employee — a camp counselor — the previous two summers.
“He really is a great kid,” said Pascarella, who had been Fiorello’s phys. ed. teacher at Seaford High School, as well as his soccer coach. “He’s just a really good person to be around.”
Dietz, now a teacher at the middle school, was Fiorello’s fourth-grade teacher at the Manor School. He described his former student as friendly, polite, kind and thoughtful.
“He has a lot of struggles ahead of him,” Dietz said, about why they chose Fiorello, 17, as this year’s recipient of the funds raised from Carnival Day on Aug. 6. “Anything that we can do to make that easier for him is well worth it.”
As campers and counselors entered the carnival, they were asked to make a donation. They were then each given a green bracelet that read “#nicostrong You Got This.” A total of $1,541 was collected for Fiorello, which Pascarella said was “unbelievable.”
Molly Urban, 11, wore one of the #nicostrong T-shirts that have been sold in the community in the months since the accident, another of the many fundraisers for the Fiorello family. She said that Fiorello was one of her counselors last year, and she remembers him as a nice person who always baked for the children in his group.
Carnival Day had special meaning for many of the counselors. Steve DiBlasio and Rory Cohn, who both graduated from Seaford High School in June, were Fiorello’s teammates on the varsity soccer team. DiBlasio described Fiorello, the backup goalie, as someone who always tried to make his teammates better.
Cohn and Fiorello were part of a class trip that went to Europe during spring break earlier this year, and Cohn said that Fiorello kept the mood light with his well-known sense of humor. “It’s full laughs all the time,” Cohn said. “He’s always happy. He’s a person that loves life.”
