A Holiday Tradition in Loving Memory of Pedro L. Vega Jr. '12

Remembering the loss of a loved one is never easy, and ensuring their memory lives on is always difficult. But for the third year in a row, on December 10, the Vega Family worked their way out of their beds and set out do both.

Pedro L. Vega Jr. '12 tragically passed away on December 10, 2013, from what was later discovered to be arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD), a rare form of cardiomyopathy. The shock reverberated throughout the Avon Old Farms community, and many began to ask, "What we can do?"

"Richard and Deborah Previdi, parents of RJ Previdi '12 who graduated with Pedro, decided to start a scholarship fund in Pedro's memory the following spring," shared Pedro's mother Carmen, who works as the Campaign Administrator in Avon's Alumni & Development Office. "And then, we decided to build around that idea by starting the Pedro L. Vega Jr. Foundation."

The mission of the foundation is to ensure that Pedro's legacy lives on and that his personality is never forgotten. His love of music, basketball, and family drive the foundation, especially around the holidays.

"In 2014 my husband and I were thinking about what we could do to keep Pedro's influence alive around the holidays," Carmen continued. "We always heard him talking about the Toys for Tots initiative at Avon – filling the stage with toys, the giant raffle, Mr. Custer telling the story of the Boar's Head Festival – and then it clicked: we needed to help collect toys."

Not sure where to start, the family posted about collecting toys in Pedro's memory on their Facebook page. And the rest, you could say, is history. Toy and monetary donations started to come in, and a new tradition was born.

Now, on Dec. 10, the family gets up and, together, has a family breakfast. Then, they use the funds donated to go toy shopping before bringing their pile of toys to Avon Old Farms.

"We stack the toys around Pedro's jersey and take a picture, so we can remind everyone that this is Pedro at work, still helping out with Toys for Tots," said Carmen. "While I could sit at home and be very sad about losing my son, this is a way for us to fill the day with happy memories of our amazing boy."

The toys are then added to the large display in the Susan B. Casey Auditorium, and the event rolls on. And, most of the time, the Vega's efforts go unnoticed at the Toys for Tots event.

"This is about remembering Pedro, and celebrating the things he loved in life," Carmen continued. "It's not about pushing hard and raising the most amount of money... While that would be really good, this is more about letting those people who want to help Pedro's legacy continue to do so."

In addition to the toy drive, the foundation's money has also provided funding for the Art Department, purchased a basketball machine for the basketball program, and this fall, provided a financial scholarship to junior Marquis Wilson, of Windsor, Conn.

One hundred percent of all funds raised by the Pedro L. Vega Jr. Foundation goes directly to the fund at Avon Old Farms School. Each May, the Vega family hosts a golf tournament, which brings in between $20,000 and $25,000. The 2018 tournament on May 29, 2018, will be the fifth annual event, and the family hopes to raise $30,000.

For now, we hope that Pedro's memory continues to live on in the memory of Avon Old Farms, especially as we bring a close to another year.