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PrintA year ago, Michael and April Rocco won two turkeys in a raffle at the Sharpsburg VFW, and donated their winnings to a food bank at St. Augustine Church, near their Lawrenceville home.
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Lake Fong, Post-Gazette Members of the Rocco family, from left, Hunter, 4, April, Michael and Cheyenne, 5. Click photo for larger image. |
Michael Rocco, 47, spent five months out of work earlier this year after badly injuring his shoulder in a car accident, forcing him, his wife, and his three children to live on a shoestring budget.
The Roccos recently asked employees at the Arsenal Head Start preschool program on Butler Street to help them provide presents for Hunter, 4, Cheyenne, 5, and Kirsten, 13, this Christmas through the Post-Gazette Goodfellows toy campaign.
"We went from giving to Toys for Tots last year to asking for toys this year," April Rocco said.
Through his job repairing air conditioners for a small Carnegie-based company, the soft-spoken Michael Rocco had managed to provide for himself and his family.
He also found ways to donate to those in need, he said, putting money in collection boxes at local malls during the holiday season and, a few years ago, giving away a mountain bike his oldest daughter never used.
In March, Rocco's fortunes changed for the worse. He was navigating narrow Lawrenceville back streets when his hulking 1976 Ford LTD collided with a Honda Civic, throwing him against the steering wheel and tearing the tendons in his rotator cuff.
Rocco's health insurance covered most of his medical expenses, but he did not qualify for workers' compensation, and he had to spend the next several months with his arm in a sling, sleeping upright on a couch.
With no regular source of income, the Roccos had to cut back on their spending and ask neighbors and friends for occasional help. They stopped getting cable television, renting movies, and even going on trips to the ice cream store.
April Rocco said she can't afford to buy a new winter coat for Kirsten.
Despite the family's financial troubles, the Rocco row house still has the most festive facade on 38th Street. Lights crawl up the wooden posts. For Thanksgiving, a block of hay sat on the porch, and cutouts of pilgrims and Indians hung from every window.
And inside, the Rocco children play as usual. On a recent afternoon, Hunter ran across the living room with a fresh crew cut, showing off a paper turkey he made at Head Start.
"We're doing OK, but we're not out of the woods yet," said Michael Rocco, who went back to work two months ago and has been delivering pizza on weekends to earn extra money.
They cut back on their holiday plans, telling some relatives they could only afford Thanksgiving dinner for a smaller group.
"They're going to notice the holidays this year," April Rocco said of her children. "They're so used to us all getting together."
Post-Gazette readers have lent a holiday hand to families like the Roccos since 1947. Donations to the Goodfellows Toy Fund help ensure that all children have toys on Christmas morning.
Every donation, large and small, is acknowledged in the newspaper.
You can make a tax-deductible contribution to Goodfellows by using the coupon below, or donate online at PG Charities.
Donations
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| Today's total | $4,776.00 |
| Grand total | $17,508.09 |
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| Richard Bjerke, M.D. | $500.00 |
| Tony and Jody Kuzneski | $250.00 |
| Joe and Eileen Sisca | $150.00 |
| James J. Wallaert | $150.00 |
| Mr. and Mrs. Timothy A. Parker and Sons | $125.00 |
| Jack and Judie Day | $100.00 |
| Anonymous | $100.00 |
| The Petroski Family | $100.00 |
| Lena M. Dipaolo | $100.00 |
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| Keith and Maureen McGinnis | $100.00 |
| Dr. Harry Burke | $100.00 |
| In Memory of Harry J. Rhodes, Jr | $100.00 |
| Dedicated to Brother Larry Vincent and Margaret Collura | $100.00 |
| The Buchser Family | $100.00 |
| Steve and Chris Schrom | $100.00 |
| Lilly and Wils Osthoff | $100.00 |
| William J. Fedorka | $100.00 |
| Philip J. Dipaolo | $100.00 |
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| Anonymous | $100.00 |
| The Seely-Gant Family | $100.00 |
| Susan Fretterd | $75.00 |
| Grace W. Ferrero | $75.00 |
| Maureen Perrino | $75.00 |
| Gary and Jan Allen | $75.00 |
| Marilyn Mason | $75.00 |
| Else Grandchildren -- Michael, Andrew, Danny, Julie, Joshu, Jacob | $60.00 |
| Dean and Judith Pecoraro | $55.00 |
| David G. Schmidt (Jessica Nicole) | $40.00 |
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| In Memory of Alvin and Margaret Weinberg Milligram | $36.00 |
| Michael and Dolores Kara | $35.00 |
| Hugh D. Young | $35.00 |
| Joseph and Martha Fabry | $35.00 |
| Paul J. Och | $30.00 |
| In Memory of Ches Cigola | $30.00 |
| Alice Swan | $30.00 |
| Harry O. and Christine E. Buck | $30.00 |
| Mrs. R. Lintner | $30.00 |
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| Carl C. Zellie, Jr | $30.00 |
| Richard F. Pfeiffer | $25.00 |
| Nancy and Paul Scott | $25.00 |
| Don and Ruth Berry | $25.00 |
| Jake and Jesse Kallam | $25.00 |
| Len and Eileen Laabs | $25.00 |
| Anthony J. Plastino, II | $25.00 |
| The Rebholz Family | $25.00 |
| Sherri Angelisanti | $25.00 |
| Jean R. Barr | $25.00 |
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| Bernice Abramowitz | $25.00 |
| Anonymous | $25.00 |
| Anonymous | $25.00 |
| Anonymous | $25.00 |
| Joan F. Bowen | $25.00 |
| Anonymous | $25.00 |
| Peter and Mary Jay Michel | $25.00 |
| Louis H. Deiss | $25.00 |
| Loretta Proch | $25.00 |
| Joanna M. Bakuhn | $25.00 |
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| Chester and Anita Smolenski | $25.00 |
| Lisa Gillespie Sarneso | $25.00 |
| Joseph S. Matusz | $25.00 |
| Dorothy Berry Ferguson | $25.00 |
| Michael Kolesar | $25.00 |
| Mary Weinstein | $25.00 |
| John B. Mallon | $25.00 |
| Gertrude Kneil | $25.00 |
| Anonymous | $25.00 |
| Ron and Regina Connolly | $25.00 |
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| Dr. Eric and Kathy Snyder and Studley | $25.00 |
| Charlotte McNally | $20.00 |
| Lorraine Eglberger | $20.00 |
| Charles and Mildred Tornabene | $20.00 |
| Gary R. Trettel | $20.00 |
| J.M. Bechtel | $20.00 |
| George C. Bandik, PhD | $20.00 |
| Brenda Winkelman | $20.00 |
| Joan E. Young | $20.00 |
| Jeanette Lindblad | $20.00 |
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| Mike and Karen Ulrich | $20.00 |
| Robert and Norma Brown | $20.00 |
| Jonathan W. Bargerstock | $20.00 |
| Paige and Grant | $20.00 |
| Ray and Jackie Roberts | $20.00 |
| Anonymous | $20.00 |
| Catherine Gasvoda | $15.00 |
| Rodney Dady | $15.00 |
| Jane Murslack | $15.00 |
| In Memory of Albert F. Egler | $10.00 |
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| James A. Kramer | $10.00 |
| Yvonne Kaczmarek | $10.00 |
| Lorraine M. Hall | $10.00 |
| Marge and Kathy Lesyk | $10.00 |
| Patricia E. Butler | $10.00 |
| Marian Thompson | $10.00 |
| Zerah Perry | $10.00 |
| Susan W. Boyle | $10.00 |
| Louis Wassermann | $10.00 |
| Anonymous | $10.00 |
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| Dedicated to Daniel Stoner | $10.00 |
| Anonymous | $10.00 |
| David L. Paul | $10.00 |
| Robert H. Eger | $5.00 |
| Mackenzie Gerhart | $5.00 |
| Beth and John Zyglowicz and Haley Monahan | $5.00 |
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