By Taylan Parker | Read the full story on FresnoStateNews.com
The 2021 Paul DeRuosi Memorial Community Service Scholarship will be presented to Fresno State sophomore Lucca Lorenzi of Merced. The award, which includes a $1,000 scholarship, is given each year to a student who exemplifies the commitment to service that Paul DeRuosi championed during his distinguished 31-year career at Fresno State.
After two lifesaving surgeries at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, Lorenzi was eager to find a way to give back to the hospital. In 2017, Lorenzi launched “Pack It Up For Packard,” which started as an art supply donation to encourage the healing power of creativity for the more than 500,000 children treated there every year. When Lorenzi discovered the hospital’s library shelves empty, he decided to sponsor book drives at a local elementary school’s book fair where parents could buy a book in English or Spanish to be donated to the hospital, with proceeds benefiting the school’s library. This ensured books for both libraries and progress towards the hospital’s goal of sending every child home with their favorite book.
Having dyslexia and knowing the power of reading, Lorenzi understood the urgent need for books. To date, Lorenzi has collected over 7,000 art supplies and books for the hospital. In 2020, Lorenzi created over 10 “Thank You” videos for the hospital. He also created 20 coloring sheets for patients and their families; each coloring sheet was designed to match a different California ecosystem (matching the theme of each floor in the hospital). He also created art video tutorials for the art therapy program and raised over $500 for its virtual holiday toy drive.
Due to the pandemic, Lorenzi had to look for new, safe ways to continue to serve his community. Each of his quarantine service projects ties back to his time at Lucile Packard and encourages the healing power of creativity.
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The College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State 