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About Rocco
Fiorentino
When meeting 12 year old
Rocco Fiorentino, it’s easy to be captivated by his dimpled smile and
charming style. It’s just as impressive to listen to him sing and play
piano, perhaps a recent jazz composition he wrote. And, it’s wonderful
to know that this young person, who is blind due to premature birth, has
the most positive outlook on life and is an advocate for all children
who are blind or visually impaired.
It is remarkable hearing about this young musician and humanitarian, but
even more so knowing that Rocco was born four months premature, weighing
only one and a half pounds. He had less than a 5% chance to survive, and
he lost his twin brother, Michael, at birth. Rocco spent the first six
months of his life at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and, after 10
surgeries, he was released. Rocco lost his vision due to the high levels
of oxygen needed to keep him alive. And, knowing this, it makes it even
more incredible that this young man awakes with a smile and doesn’t
understand negative thinking. With this outlook on life, he’s already a
“star,” but watching him on stage, his star quality is even more
evident.
Rocco is continually recognized for his humanitarian efforts and was
honored this year with two national awards. He was a Volvo for Life
Award Finalist, winning $10,000 for The Little Rock Foundation, the
non-profit organization inspired by him and run totally by volunteers to
support the needs of families with children who are blind or visually
impaired. He was also named a Build-A-Bear Huggable Hero, only one in 12
throughout the world. He won $7,500 as an educational scholarship and
another $2,500 for The Little Rock Foundation. Plus, he attended a
three-day leadership program in Washington, DC with the other Heroes and
is included in the Build-A-Bear 2009 calendar. More accolades include
the Helen Keller Award, presented in the fall of 2008 by the Visual
Impairment & Blindness Services in Berks County, PA and the Great Friend
to Kids Award, 2007, student division, by Please Touch Museum in
Philadelphia.
The reason for this recognition is that, as an Ambassador for The Little
Rock foundation, Rocco continually builds awareness about blindness by
lobbying and educating the public about the importance of Braille
education. He is responsible for influencing New Jersey State
legislators to dedicate $1.2 million to Braille education and services
for blind students. In 2008, he spoke at the NJ State Assembly Budget
Hearings protesting projected budget cuts and because of this, he saved
the jobs of 50 employees (out of 54) of the New Jersey Commission for
the Blind and Visually Impaired.
When it comes to Rocco’s passion, it’s his music. When he performs, he
brings crowds to their feet with his vocal talent and his ability on the
piano and drums. This year he was seen on “The Today Show” and the hosts
and crew were overwhelmed! He also was a guest of FOX-TV and served as a
reporter for the Philadelphia affiliate at the American Idol finals in
Hollywood. On his second day of reporting, he interviewed the winner,
David Cook, and got to meet his personal idol, David Archuleta. After
hearing Rocco sing, Laura Saltman, a reporter on Access Hollywood,
predicted that Rocco would make the Top 12 of American Idol when he was
old enough to audition.
Rocco’s favorite music is the great jazz standards sung by Tony Bennett
and Frank Sinatra. And, the performer with whom he relates the most,
whose first love in music was jazz, is Stevie Wonder, as they both are
blind due to Retinopathy of Prematurity. Rocco had a chance to meet both
Tony Bennett and Stevie Wonder in Atlantic City in 2007. He was Tony’s
guest at Caesar’s Hotel and Casino, where he saw him perform and met him
backstage, and he saw Stevie Wonder after his Borgata Hotel appearance
and played “You are the Sunshine of My Life” on Stevie’s keyboard.
Rocco has been performing for years. He continues to perform at Birdland,
the famed jazz club in New York during Jim Caruso’s Cast Party, an open
mike night. In the Cast Party newsletter, Jim Caruso said, “Perhaps most
thrilling was a performance by a very cool ten-year old kid named Rocco
Fiorentino. Rocco sings like a bird, has perfect pitch, plays piano and
drums...and has been blind since birth. You can't know how he captivated
the crowd at Birdland.” Rocco’s second performance, in December 2007, is
now on YouTube.com.
As Ambassador of The Little Rock Foundation, Rocco is a guest speaker at
schools, senior groups and other organizations sharing his life’s
experiences, demonstrating how to use a Braille writer and bringing a
copy of one of his favorite books, Harry Potter, written in Braille.
Truly an inspiration, he says about his school experiences, “I like to
visit schools because the more people who know about blindness, the
better.” When asked how the students react, he said, “Some kids say,
‘Braille is really neat! It’s like a secret code.’ I’m glad I can help
increase their awareness.”
Today, Rocco is busy with his friends and supporting charities like
March of Dimes, for which he is a spokesperson for their premature
babies’ campaign and Variety – the Children’s Charity. He is honored to
have received such awards as the Braille Literacy Award Library of
Congress & Library for the Blind & Handicapped, the Philadelphia 76er's
Hometown Hero and the Liberty Freedom Award from Camden County, NJ. He
is mainstreamed in regular schools and is a 6th grade student at
Voorhees Middle School in Voorhees, NJ.
For more information about Rocco, visit his website –
www.musicbyrocco.com. Sign up for his e-mail list or become a member of
his newly formed fan club. To learn more about the Little Rock
Foundation, visit www.tlrf.org
Press Contact: Sharla
Feldscher, 215-627-0801 #101, sharla@sf-pr.com.
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