RICKY,Inc

On the ice at the DCU Center in Worcester, Christopher Giacoppo's son Charlie was chosen to perform the ceremonial puck drop prior to the start of the game. 

Charlie does a great job on the face-off between Chris Curran of the White team and a center from the Purple team. Both teams were wearing Ricky, Inc. hockey jerseys and we are thankful to all of the men who participated in this event.

This charitable hockey game was made possible through the kindness and thoughtfulness of Chris Curran, formerly of Norwood.

Chris plays in the Power Play Hockey League for the South Shore Draft League team and was instrumental in getting Ricky, Inc. chosen as the events benefactor.

The Purple team, Bridgewater Draft League on the offensive attack.

Both teams played extremely well and scored many goals during this very competitive game.

Charlie and his Dad, Chris enjoyed the day with a visit to the team benches to meet the players.

A member of the Purple team gets a great pass from a teammate and breaks in alone on the White goalie.

The goalie made a fantastic save to rob the shooter from scoring another goal.

With less than 3-minutes left in the game, the score was tied 5-5, until the White team score a late goal, forcing the Purple team to pull its goalie and leave its net open for a very late game open net goal.

The White team (South Shore) won this game by a score of 7-5.

After showing great sportsmanship and shaking hands, both teams posed for a group team picture.

"A very special thanks to Chris Curran and Drew Micheli of the Worcester Railers Hockey Club"

Drew Micheli made sure that we each received keep-sake hockey pucks memorializing the game.

Charlie got to keep the puck he used for the ceremonial puck drop face-off. 

Chris Curran also made sure that we received complimentary hockey game jerseys that not only showed the Ricky, Inc. logo but also the logos of the South Shore and Bridgewater Draft League teams.

(White for my son Chris and Purple for me - Rich).

Team Ricky member, consummate volunteer and long-time supporter Doug Jasset happily displays his Ricky, Inc. tee shirt during a beautiful Florida sunset.

The Jasset family enjoyed their vacation on the water with evening sunsets on the incredible Longboat Key, a 12-mile-long barrier island with fantastic beaches.

Ricky, Inc.'s Board of Directors and 5-year Secretary Lisa Fitzgibbon shows off her tee shirt during her trip to Nashville to watch the Patriots play the Titans

Lisa and her husband Michael, also a Team Ricky volunteer, stop in at the original Grand Ole Opry located downtown at the Ryman Theatre

The Fitzgibbon's were gracious enough to stop in at my favorite candy store and bring me home a few of the world-famous Goo Goo Cluster chocolates

Travis Lampron was kind enough to take his Ricky, Inc. tee shirt on his long journey across the world to Peru.

Travis climbed this Mountain to Machu Picchu, an ancient Incan citadel located high in the Andres Mountains of Peru.

Travis takes a break from the steady climb to enjoy the beauty of this incredible mountainside waterfall

Once at the top of Machu Picchu, he enjoyed his view of the "Lost City of the Incas", which has been designated as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Travis informed us that while he was atop of this mountain, he said a prayer of remembrance for Ricky and wanted us to know that we are always in his and his family's thoughts and prayers.

Special thanks goes out to Julie Lampron who has been supporting and donating to Ricky, Inc. since its inception, for making this possible with Travis.

Julie wrote to us "your love reaches all heights near and far, with Love Julie".

On August 12, 2025 we visited the Veterans Affairs administration in Jamaica Plain and made a backpack and materials donation for our valued military veterans.

We later received this incredible thank you and testimonial from Matthew Edwards, the Chief of the Center for Development and Civic Engagement.

This is a beautiful thank you note from the Veterans Affairs in Jamaica Plain for our recent donations. We are very grateful to support these three programs housed in Veterans Administration located in the JP location. We hope the 600 socks are distributed to all that need them. Thank you to all our Veterans for their service.

We can never say thank you enough to our incredible and heroic US veterans for their service to our country.

Saying "weathering the storm is easy"

"Actually, doing it takes courage"

Be strong, be courageous, put your head down and take whatever comes your way........ Then succeed!

We received this thank you note from the clients at the Andrew House after our visit.

Their heartfelt comments mean the world to us and we will keep them close to our hearts as we too navigate this difficult world that we have now found ourselves immersed in forever.

"Thank YOU for your kindness and we commit to continue our efforts to support you as long as we are able".

Nicholas' loving family gathers on Saturday July 26, 2025 at his memorial bench on the Western Prom in Portland Maine to celebrate and remember him for the incredible, loving and kind person that he was.

Dad, Mom, Chris and Roxy

"Nothing but love here"

Many friends attended this day of remembrance for their friend Nick.

Pictured with Rich is Justin Reid who has been a longtime friend and supporter of Nicholas and is currently the Director of the Portland Recovery Community Center.

Justin drove over an hour from Northern Maine on his day off, just to be there for his friend.

Lots of Nick's closest friends from Massachusetts attended this memorial event including, Matthew Sherman, Michael McNamme, Dan Anderson and pictured above with their family is Willie & Maura Wall.

The Wall family was well represented as Cathy Wall & sister Val Lynch also made the trek from Mass to Maine for this special event.

It was truly a family affair as Aunt's Cathy & Margaret Giacoppo were present with Uncle's Michael & Steven.

They showed their love and affection for Nicholas and have fond memories of his incredible loving presence.

On Friday July 25th, Nicholas' dad and brother Chris took some time to sit on his Memorial Bench to reflect on his life and the kind, wonderful person that he always has been.

He is missed far more than he will ever know.

Giacoppo family patriarch, Matthew Michael Giacoppo (PA), sits on Nicholas' memorial bench and remembers the many times when he and Nick would cook together and how Nick showed so much promise as a versatile chef.

PA is usually a very talkative person but, on this day, he spent his time mostly in quiet reflection and thoughts of his loving grandson.

PA has many fond memories and prays for Nick every day. He always says how much his misses both Ricky & Nick.

Cousins Teri Stirk and Sharon Proia made the journey from Massachusetts on this day and brought longtime friend Betty-Lou.

All three women sacrificed their Saturday and committed to being there for Nick and their cousin Bernadette.

Also in attendance was Michael Fitzgibbon who still made the trip even though he was experiencing some family medical situations. He thought enough of Nick and us to travel by himself to be there for us. Thank you!

They all have been generous donors to Ricky, Inc. and are always there when Bernadette or I need them.

Although family pet Roxy has successfully photo-bombed nearly every photo, Nicholas' family proudly admires the view of the ocean from his wonderful bench location.

Margaret, Christopher, Steven, Cathy and Nichole Giacoppo

Christopher sits in silence as he remembers his brothers and reflects on their lives together.

Everyone's heart has been broken beyond repair and Christopher's love for Ricky and Nicholas will always be with him.

We pray that his 7-week old daughter Ruby will help to mend his badly broken heart.

On Sunday August 17, 2025 Rich Giacoppo and Ricky, Inc. hosted a resource table at the Gilly's House Summerfest 2025 where they distributed 20 doses of life-saving Narcan, as well as numerous other resource materials.

Bernadette Giacoppo and Chloe Jones (Christopher Giacoppo's fiancé) man the resource table with a precious newcomer, Ruby Giacoppo (7-weeks old).

 We attended "Gilly's House, Inc. Summer Fest" on Sunday. Gilly's House hosted many organizations supporting overdose prevention and awareness. 

We distributed 20 doses of Narcan and distributed prevention booklets for families and adolescents. Many families attended to all free activities for children and food. 

Chris Giacoppo and his son Charlie have fun in the bubble pit as Papa Giacoppo looks on.

Gilly's Summerfest had many fun activities for kids and the "bubble pit" was tops among the kids' favorites. 

Thank you to Barbara Gillmeister and Maureen Cappuccino for inviting us. Our son Christopher and his family enjoyed the day 

Charlie can't get enough of the bubble machine and loves every minute of it.

With all of the wonderful activities for the kids, the bubble pit was by far the "hit of the day" for the children.

On Monday August 18, 2025 I visited BHN (Behavioral Health Network, Inc.) Family Center and met with Ilene Carrera, Assistant Program Director, Hyde Park, and her staff. Currently there are six mothers and eight children. They are able to accept up to 12 mothers. My wife purchased tote bags filling them with what typically goes in a backpack. She got the age of each child and purchased an educational toy for each child. We have been visiting BHN for at least five years now. They have moved from their Dorchester location and are now in Hyde Park. I didn't meet with the families due to HIPPA. In the future with more time before visiting we will most likely get to visit with them. We would like to thank Illene for all her help in coordinating this visit with my wife, Bernadette. 

We also donated 75 pairs of children's socks. BHN Dorchester Family Center is a residential substance use treatment program for pregnant and parenting women with children in their care up to age 18. The program provides women-centered, trauma-informed care and evidence-based substance use treatment services, with the goal of successful family reunification and long-term family stabilization. This is a closed referral program and all referrals go through IHR.

ELIGIBILITY

This is a closed referral program, managed by Institute for Health & Recovery (IHR).

Female, Nonbinary, 18+

HOURS

24/7

PHONE

617-275-8862

All of the BHN women and their children received packages from Ricky, Inc. 

The 6 women received personalized gift bags designed by Bernadette Giacoppo and the 8 children also received personalized age-appropriate gifts also donated by Bernadette.

  On Tuesday August 12, 2025 I visited the Veteran's Affairs Administration in Jamaica Plain. I met with Damien Powell, Voluntary Services Specialist and volunteer Peter Schaffer, who assisted me in unloading all of our donation materials from the Ricky, Inc. van.

As part of our Summer 2025 Backpack & Supplies Donation Program, we donated 64 Backpacks to go to the Substance Abuse Residential Unit, the Women's Trust House, and the in-house Methadone Clinic. 

Each backpack contained a fully packed hygiene kit, 2-pairs of socks, rain poncho, sunglasses, sunscreen, water bottle, cleansing wipes, 2-doses of Narcan, and much more. 

The US Department of Veteran Affairs is located at 150 South Huntington Ave in Jamaica Plain, MA.

It is easily accessible and offers many services to our deserving men and women who have served their country.

“We as a family thank our Veterans for their service to our country with the upmost respect”

   Pictured (L-R) are Peter Schaffer and Damien Powell accepting the Ricky, Inc. backpack donation.

We also donated 80 pairs of men's underwear, 50 women' underwear, 36 tee shirts, 77 flip Flops, and 600 pairs of Bombas socks to be distributed to all of their programs. 

Best of luck to Damien in his new role in charge of Volunteer Services for the branch and to Peter who was starting his first day of work with Volunteer Services.