Thursday, October 1, 2026
The East Rockaway community came together through baseball on Aug. 5 for an evening that was about much more than the game.
The Lynbrook-based Love for Giovanni Foundation hosted its first Gio’s Field of Dreams event at East Rockaway’s Frank M. Pignataro Recreation Center, bringing families, first responders and the foundation’s Epi Everywhere Teen Ambassadors together to honor Lynbrook native Giovanni Cipriano and raise awareness about food allergies and anaphylaxis.
The foundation was created in honor of Giovanni, who died of anaphylaxis in 2013, at age 14. His mother, Georgina Cornago Cipriano, founded the organization to educate others about the seriousness of food allergies, improve emergency response and expand access to life-saving epinephrine.
“Gio’s Field of Dreams was truly a beautiful evening and more successful than I could have imagined,” Cipriano said. “Seeing families, first responders, community members and our Epi Everywhere Teen Ambassadors all come together was incredibly special.”
The teen ambassadors — young volunteers who support the foundation’s food allergy awareness and education efforts — took an active role throughout the event, helping where needed and serving as mentors to younger children.
“Watching everyone out on the field playing the game Giovanni loved so much was something I’ll never forget,” she said.
U.S. Rep. Laura Gillen attended the event and presented the foundation with a Congressional Certificate of Recognition. The organization also received a citation from Assemblywoman Judy Griffin.
Proceeds from the event supported the foundation and its efforts to provide access to epinephrine and anaphylaxis recognition training. It also highlighted the foundation’s Epi First, Epi Everywhere initiative, which advocates for epinephrine to be available wherever an anaphylactic emergency could occur.
“Events like this mean everything to our foundation,” Cipriano said. “They allow us to honor Giovanni’s life and legacy while bringing families together [and] raising food allergy awareness.”
After the success of the inaugural event, Cipriano said that it is expected to return. “We knew Gio’s Field of Dreams was going to be special,” she said, “and now we know it was the beginning of what will surely become an annual event.”
