Lives Changed: Christopher DiMatteo
Christopher DiMatteo reached out the Foundation and expressed how much his participation in the Foundation events through out his time in high school had a significant impact on his life. Read Chris’s letter below to the Hicks Family and see how the Foundation has changed his life.
Dear Hicks Family,
I write to thank you for everything you have done for me, and for the children in Chester. After some self-reflection of how I have gotten to this point in my life, it is apparent how vital the Andrew L. Hicks, Jr. Foundation was to me.
This foundation, while doing tremendous good for the children of Chester, has also had a positive effect on the high school students of Henderson, and every person involved with this foundation and its mission. You are inspirational to all and I felt it appropriate and overdue to tell you how this foundation has affected me.
The Andrew L. Hicks, Jr. Foundation has taught and shown me the joy in volunteering for the underprivileged. This volunteer work has shown me the contagious youthful energy children have, and how attached they get, and how quickly they trust people. I still remember the Paradise Farms camp so clearly, when one of my campers began to cry the night we lit the Chinese lanterns because he didn’t want to leave us, and I only met him 48 hours before. Moments like these showed me the impact you can have on someone in such a short period of time. These camps and events the foundation held allowed me to meet incredible children whose smiles light up a room, and whose laughter is contagious. These experiences sprouted my passion to help others and helped put me on a path into medicine. I plan to become a physician assistant, and hope to work in pediatrics, so I’ll always be around kids.
I have learned hundreds of life lessons from my interactions with the children I met through your organization. They have humbled me and have opened my eyes to parts of society I would have otherwise been blind to. I have taken the passion to help those less fortunate than me to college and joined a group of people who provide free kidney screenings and consultations to the in-need communities throughout Pittsburgh.
I thank you with all my heart for giving me the opportunity to be a part of something great, and something so much bigger than myself. Thank you for exposing me to children who have changed my outlook on life and my perception of society. Thank you for the good work you do for the community of West Chester and the community of Chester. Your foundation, and your family, have influenced so many people in such positive ways. No amount of thanks is enough but thank you nonetheless.
All the best,
Christopher DiMatteo
