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Lacerenza will receive the “Citizen of the Year” award from Stamford Elks. The organization will also honor its Officer of the Year and Elk of the Year at the dinner, which will be held at the lodge at 943 Hope St.
Lacerenza was born 11 weeks prematurely on March 17, 1987. He spent 55 days in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at Yale-New Haven Hospital before coming home to his parents, Elaine and Jim. James went through many obstacles upon being diagnosed with cerebral palsy shortly after birth, but has never let his disability fully define him.
Lacerenza volunteered for the Muscular Dystrophy Association for 12 years and raised nearly $100,000 in Stamford to send children from the New York Metropolitan area with muscular dystrophy to a free week-long summer camp. When local MDA officials decided to close the Hawthorne, N.Y., office and camp site which had previously served our area, their operations, including summer camp were centralized in North Haven.
As a result of these changes, Lacerenza decided to help The Jett Foundation for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, which was launching its own summer camp called Camp Promise East . Since 2011, Lacerenza and his team have raised $18,000 for Camp Promise. As of April 1, they are approaching close to $200,000 for various groups and grants and will have sent over 100 kids to summer camp.
“To be honored for Citizen of the Year by the Stamford Elks is extremely flattering. Other individuals are equally if not more deserving than myself. No human is perfect, and neither am I,’’ Lacerenza said.
“However, we all should try to find the good in every situation, and over the last 28 years, I literally just keep rolling along so that other young people with special needs have some of the blessings of camp that I was fortunate to have as a child. Words don't do this honor justice, and it's going to be a great night to celebrate Stamford in shaping me as a caring human being.”
The Elks are a national charitable organization. There are 33 lodges in Connecticut and they are each encouraged to select a citizen, not necessarily an Elk, who has contributed in a special way to improving the local community. This individual should be someone who has shown leadership in the community; has contributed voluntary service and is recognized as being an all-around good citizen.
“I’ve chosen James because he is so cognizant of the needs of others and puts his own needs aside to help people with disabilities,’’ said Lynda Roscia, Exalted Ruler of Stamford Elks. “He is a community minded individual who I admire, as do many others for his unselfish deeds.”
The awards dinner, which is open to the public, will be held on Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 per person. For more information call 203-588-0844 or 203-323-9614.
Robyn Blosio Bova is a Stamford native and a Realtor for Higgins Group.
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