Kingston Mariner, MA

Rizzo Foundation touches lives at home and around the globe

By Kathryn Koch
GateHouse News Service

Thu Sep 20, 2007, 02:46 PM EDT

Story Tools: Email This | Print This
Kingston –
When Zareh Zurazyan left his home country of Armenia, a quality
education was foremost on his mind.

Zurazyan, 18, a senior at B.C. High School, will graduate this year
with the diploma he was seeking and college in his sights.

He couldn’t have attended the high school for four years, though,
without some special help from Mike and Mary Rizzo and the Jonathan
Rizzo Memorial Foundation.

`If they didn’t pay for it, I wouldn’t be able to go here,’ he said
from school. `I’m really grateful. The opportunities for me are
tremendous.’

The Rizzos won’t see their oldest son, Jonathan, graduate from
college. But they are helping students at his high school, Boston
College High, and at Silver Lake Regional High School prepare for
college and a bright future ahead by receiving a good education.

In Zurazyan’s case, a four-year scholarship from the Foundation is
making this possible. Born and raised in Armenia, Zurazyan had moved
here five years ago to join his older sister, Anna, 29, and get away
from tough times in his homeland.

`Mainly I came here because the economy in Armenia wasn’t good at that
time,’ he said. `I decided to come here to get a good education.’

After two years at St. Mary of the Assumption School, he moved on to
Boston College High. During his sophomore year, Zurazyan had the
opportunity to meet the Rizzos at a scholarship breakfast. He had been
nervous beforehand but soon was telling them all about himself, his
goals and aspirations. He plays basketball in two different leagues,
and wants to study either pre-med or business.

Zurazyan, who lives in Belmont, might have been deported if he hadn’t
received the four-year scholarship. Instead he held a student visa all
four years and within the year expects to receive his green card to
stay in the United States while he attends college.

Autumn Moran, director of financial aid at Boston College High School,
said that when Mary Rizzo calls her to ask who needs help, she’s only
too pleased to connect her with students like Zurazyan.

Another student selected for a Foundation scholarship had been living
in a car with his mother 4-1/2 years ago, with school the least of his
worries. The financial aid department has a budget for helping
students attend Boston College High, Moran said, but thanks to Mary
Rizzo, who heard his story, and the Foundation, he has clothes, books
and other necessities and can focus on his future.

`It’s amazing what they do,’ she said. `I think everyone here is moved
that they took a horrific experience and loss and turned it into
something positive.’

Moran said students who would not otherwise have a real Thanksgiving
or Christmas are also helped. She said the Foundation will supply
turkey dinners for families of students, and will donate money for
Christmas presents for the students and their siblings.

High school scholarships are just one avenue for the Foundation to
keep Jonathan’s memory alive. Most of the money the Foundation raises
goes to help those in need, including local families, according Tammy
Miller, a friend of the Rizzo family.

Every year, the Foundation helps approximately 40 local families in
need with back-to-school clothing and supplies for children who would
otherwise go without. During the Christmas season, the Foundation
provides support for 30 to 40 local families with gift cards to the
local mall so they can buy presents for their children. The Foundation
also provides for turkey dinners with all the fixings to be delivered
to nearly 30 families at Thanksgiving.

The Foundation has paid the heat and utility bills each year for
approximately five families who are faced with crisis that leaves them
with a choice between heat and food. The Salvation Army has a new
commercial dishwasher thanks to the Foundation. The needs of families
in unique circumstances have also been met by the Foundation.

Miller said the Foundation has a broad reach helping families and
individuals in dire straights.

`The Foundation looks to help on a case-by-case basis,’ she
said. `They put the money wherever the help is needed most.’

A portion of the proceeds from the annual Jonathan Rizzo Memorial Golf
Tournament scheduled for Oct. 9 at the Pine Hills Golf Club in
Plymouth will be donated to the children in the refugee camps and
orphanages in Rwanda and Uganda where Jonathan’s brother Nick has done
good deeds in his family’s name.

To take a page from the Foundation’s Web site,
jonathanrizzofoundation.org, `Through the Foundation, Jonathan’s
spirit continues on, doing the kind of things he did during his all
too short 19 years and reminding all of us that it is not how long we
are here that counts but what we do while we’re here. As Margaret Mead
once said, `Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed
citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever
has.”