GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE from Aqua Magazine
September 01, 2004
Swimming strengthens the heart and increases flexibility. It improves posture and heals damaged muscles. And now Michael Giannamore, vice president of Windsor, Conn.- based Aqua Pool & Patio, has found another heathful way to utilize swimming pools. He is using them to help battle cancer.
Inspired by a friends who made a similar contribution in California, Giannamore and his family decided to donate a complete 16-by-32 foot free-form gunite pool to the American Cancer Society. The pool, valued at $30,500 was auctioned off for an unprecedented $25,000 at the American Cancer Society's second annual Hope Gala in Plantsville, Conn., in 2003.
"This is definitely a unique donation," says Marie Greco, regional executive for income development for the American Cancer Society. "I don't think anyone at the Cancer Society has ever gotten a donation quite like this for a gala."
"It's a triple win," says James Warner, owner of the donated pool. "It's a win for the Cancer Society because they get awareness and some funds. It's a win for me because I get a great pool and I'm able to help out a charity. And it's a win for Aqua Pool because they're able to help out a charity and also gain another customer." For the Giannamore famliy, the donation means more than being charitable and promoting the family business. In 1999, Michael's sister, Karen, died of cancer. Since then the family has sought ways to support the American Cancer Society. "It's just a home run in all senses of the word because the Cancer Society got so much and we got a good client and it felt really good to be able to do" Giannamore says.
It felt so good, in fact, the Giannamore hopes his Aqua 100 Hall of Fame company continues to have the funds to make the donation a yearly event. Though the 2004 gift didn't raise as much as the 2003 pool, it is still the American Cancer Society's largest auction item and the company is gaining invaluable attention from the community.