Joseph Petrozzi didn’t want anything special done for his 80th birthday — but he knew something was up when his entire family started arriving at Capital Cleaners on Friday.
“I was very surprised to see them, especially on a work day,” he laughed. “Somehow they must have planned this.”
The arrival of his loved ones wasn’t the only surprise. Mayor Paul Dyster and Council Chairman Sam Fruscione also made a visit to congratulate Petrozzi and present a proclamation in recognition of his years of service to the community through the Coats for Kids program.
“He’s one of those individuals that has given of themselves over the years for the benefit of the greater Niagara Falls community,” Dyster said of Petrozzi. “We could use 100 more people like him.”
Petrozzi, owner of Capitol Cleaners on Main Street, has gathered garments for the annual Coats for Kids campaign for more than half his life. Thousands of Items such as jackets, hats and scarves are collected, cleaned and distributed to the needy each winter.
The idea for the program started in the 1960s when Petrozzi was at his store one day and saw students at nearby Abate Elementary School entering the building. He solicited used coats from friends to give to those children, then opened the campaign up to his customers — and it continued to grow from there, now servicing around 15,000 children throughout the region.
The proclamation presented by Dyster credited him with “service to the city as a concerned business owner, as a community volunteer and as an individual who has served his fellow man.”
“I’m very appreciative of this honor,” Petrozzi said, but added the real credit goes to the thousands of donators. “When you see children happy, that’s the big thing. It might only be a coat, but to some kids, they think you’ve given them the world.”
Family members cheered and snapped photos as Dyster read aloud the proclamation. Afterward, 13-year-old Alexa Britton rushed into the room and gave her grandfather a big hug.
“I think it’s wonderful what he does to help so many people,” Britton said.
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By Rick Forgione
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