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Loss cements a life of volunteerism

The illness and death of her 4-year-old nephew drove Deborah Giglio to devote much of her energy and talents to the Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

CARROLLWOOD - Near the end, 4-year-old Richard Casey spoke of heaven. There, he said, he could run, play and, most of all, not feel pain.

Richard lost his fight with neuroblastoma, a cancer that mostly affects infants and children, in 1996. His aunt, Deborah L. Giglio, embraced his death as a call to arms.

"Up until the day he died, I was lying in the bed watching The Lion King with him," said Giglio, blinking back tears. "Toward the end, to hear him say something like that, I just knew I wanted to do something. Children shouldn't go through something like that."

About a year later, she joined the Pediatric Cancer Foundation, a nonprofit that raises money to fund cancer research. Last month, the foundation's board tapped Giglio, vice president for client services at the Bank of Tampa, to serve as its president.

"She has a great presence and because of her involvement in the community, she can get people to listen," said Barbara Rebold, the foundation's executive director. "She's a person who can pick up the phone and get people to respond, which is what all charities need."

Giglio, 46, is a Chamberlain High School graduate who grew up in Carrollwood and now lives in South Tampa. Ask her to name her volunteer activities and she is, quite literally, stumped. She furrows an eyebrow, twists her lips and eventually refers a reporter to her resume. Her lack of ready recall is understandable. She has nearly two dozen volunteer commitments.

Giglio is on the boards of several organizations, including the Henry B. Plant Museum and the Chiselers. She is also active in the Junior League of Tampa, volunteers at the Tampa Museum of Art and struts down the runway as a model for fundraisers to benefit organizations such as the Salvation Army and Metropolitan Ministries. Once a month, she sheds her banker's duds and delivers meals to residents in Ybor City, Belmont Heights and College Hill.

On two occasions, Giglio and her husband, John Casey, opened their home to troubled young women who needed a safe haven.

"At times I've been a mother to other people's children," said Giglio, who has no children but is stepmother to two grown daughters. "That's just the kind of person I am."

Part of her commitment to volunteerism is stoked by the Bank of Tampa, which encourages its employees to participate in community service. Giglio, whose family moved to Tampa when she was 4 months old, said she also feels a responsibility to give back to the community.

But because of her nephew Richard, her work with the Pediatric Cancer Foundation is highly personal.

Shortly after joining the foundation, Giglio launched a letter-writing campaign to ask local philanthropists to donate $1,000. She collected $12,000. Other board members took notice and soon began writing letters of their own.

As the Pediatric Cancer Foundation's president, raising money is high on Giglio's priority list. She will oversee the group's fundraising events and create new ways to solicit donations. Her goal for this year: $1-million. (Since its inception in 1991, the foundation has donated $2-million to fund cancer research at Florida hospitals.)

Giglio said she wants to raise the foundation's national profile, an effort she hopes will lead to more donations and increased interest from leading cancer researchers. Giglio said she plans to upgrade the foundation's Web site, www.pcfusa.org and get endorsements from professional athletes and companies. This year, for example, Mercedes-Benz will donate money to the foundation every time the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Derrick Brooks makes a tackle. And, PhillySwirl, a Tampa ice cream company, plans to give the foundation a portion of its profits.

Perhaps most importantly, Giglio is eager to attract board members who can parlay their skills into tangible assets for the organization. (She takes credit for snaring Lori Halpin, director of the private shopping area at Saks Fifth Avenue who hosted the foundation's first Fashion Funds the Cure event in March.)

But Giglio's toughest sell may be closest to home.

For several years, she has been trying to recruit Alvie Casey, her sister-in-law and Richard's mother, to become active in the foundation. So far Casey has declined, saying she must focus her energy on raising her three children, including 3-year-old Jack.

But Casey's heart swells when she talks about Giglio's work with pediatric cancer.

"I was thrilled that she wanted to do something that affected us so personally," Casey said. "It's not something for her own recognition or her resume; it really means something to her. When she gets involved, she always does everything 100 percent and gives her best. They're lucky to have her."

Sherri Day can be reached at 226-3405 or sday@sptimes.com

AGE: 46

JOB: Vice president of client services at the Bank of Tampa.

PASSION: Volunteer causes, including the Pediatric Cancer Foundation, for which she serves as president.

BORN: Frankfurt, Germany.

RAISED: Grew up in Carrollwood, graduated from Chamberlain High School in 1976.

HOME: Palma Ceia.

TAMPA CONNECTIONS: Daughter of Vincent Giglio, a retired Hillsborough County Circuit Court Judge.

CAREER TRACK: After one year at the University of Florida, she began working full time at now defunct Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., where she had been a summer intern.

SUPER FAN: Gator football. Season ticket holder at University of Florida, Gainesville.

FIRST VOLUNTEER STINT: Child Abuse Council in 1987.

FOR FUN: Jazzercise, every day after work.

LAST BOOK: The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks.