A Dream Come True
Meeting Kobe Bryant
December 6, 06
Sergio's big sis, Lucy, wanted to do a special thing for Sergio and thought that it would be great if he could have a special dream come true. Knowing that the "Make A Wish" Foundation grants terminally kids with wishes come true, Lucy contacted The Dream Foundation (the adult version of Make A Wish) to see what they could do.
Sergio has been a huge LA Lakers basketball fan for a very long time and his favorite player is Kobe Bryant. When asked if he had the chance to have a dream come true, meeting his sports hero was top on wish list.
So, Lucy got the (basket)ball rolling with letters, emails and phone calls to Sue Anderson- director of the Dream Foundation and her staff (John Staley, Eve Lechner, and Luzanne Otte) and with the help of the Eugenia Chow of the LA Lakers organization, Sergio got the chance of a lifetime to meet Kobe in person.
But not until he received a very special gift from Sue Anderson and the staff-
a very special leather Championship LA Lakers jacket!
(Luzanne modeling the back side of jacket)
On December 6, 06 Sergio, Kelly, Alyssa and Frankie (and sis Sonia- she was there to take pictures) headed to the Staple Center in LA to watch the Lakers take on the Indiana Pacers. From the start, the night was nothing short of amazing- lots of special attention from Eugenia of the Lakers and Luzanne of the Dream Foundation- special parking and seating, lots of food and souvenirs- everything was taken care of for the family!
Right after the game, (which the Lakers won!!! but Kobe sprain his ankle late in the game) Eugenia escorted the family to a special meeting room. Then, after a little while, Kobe came in and immediately went over to Sergio and gave him a big hug. Kobe was so very kind to everyone and was happy to sign many of items for the family and pose for a lot of pictures. He took his time and talked with Sergio and the family. (The kids could hardly speak- star struck I guess -and Kelly had lost her voice that night). Sonia knew Kobe spent a few years in Italy and was able to speak a little Italian with him.
The kids presented Kobe with thank you letters they wrote and Sergio gave Kobe a red "Never Give Up" wristband which he put on and said that he would wear with pride. Before leaving, Kobe hugged Sergio and thanked him for the opportunity to meet him and his family.
Sergio was so excited and so very thrilled to meet Kobe. Kobe couldn't have been any nicer to Sergio that night. We all felt very lucky to have shared in this special evening with Sergio.
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A huge thank you to all of those who helped make this dream come true for Sergio:
Sue Anderson of the Dream Foundation and her staff (John, Eve and Luzanne and others),
http://www.dreamfoundation.org
Eugenia Chow of the LA Lakers organization,
but the biggest thank you of all goes to Sergio's big sis Lucy for getting this dream for her little brother- "Mille Grasie e' t'amo!" (a million thank yous and I love you!)
View some of the pictures of the night by clicking on the link below: