James Giordano
James Giordano
James Giordano, also known as Jimmy was born in Sicily, Italy in 1936 and immigrated to the United States when he was 18 years old. He arrived with pennies in his pocket and was unable to speak the English language. With determination, he set out to find a job, but no one gave him a chance. With unwavering ambition, he hustled until he made a solid, reputable name for himself.
James was a mechanic by trade and later used his entrepreneurial skills to start his own business in the automotive world. His business started in the basement of his home in Brooklyn, NY where he lived with his wife, Gina and their young children. He worked tirelessly by day in an automotive repair shop, and fixed transmissions at night. His expertise, dedication and honesty established his extraordinary reputation that earned him a fortunate, new opportunity. He opened his own dealership which is still known today as Brooklyn’s only BMW dealership for over 56 years. This once tiny mom and pop shop grew into a multigenerational business, employing many dedicated people over the remaining decades of his life and beyond.
In his personal life, Jimmy enjoyed success and endured hardship. He was no stranger to defeat and overcoming the odds. In 1960, he and his wife, Gina were blessed with a beautiful daughter named Vivian, who was born with a rare genetic blood disorder called Cooley’s anemia. At the time, not much was known about the disorder. Doctors couldn’t tell the Giordano’s what to do for their child. They only knew that she could not produce the hemoglobin her cells needed for survival. The options they were given were to transfuse her with ongoing blood transfusions or not to transfuse her. If they transfused her, she would feel better, but she would have a shortened life expectancy due to iron building up in her organs. If they did not transfuse her, she may live longer but she would become severely anemic and feel worse. The Giordano’s decided to transfuse their daughter so she would feel better while she was alive. The hard part was that as she aged, she developed complications due to iron overload causing damage to her organs. She needed medication that was not invented yet, to reduce the amount of iron that was building up in her body. But it took 18 years for it to be discovered and made available to patients.
Within those 18 years, Jimmy was a leader in supporting the cause for a better life for people living with Cooley’s anemia. He and his wife joined the Brooklyn Chapter, which was a support group created by parents of other children living with Cooley’s anemia. Together they organized and ran blood drives, raised money and spread awareness about their cause. The slogan at the time was, “Help us kiss our kids goodnight and not goodbye”. People from around the world joined the fight against time to help the children live longer lives. Eventually the Nassau Chapter was born and the Cooley’s Anemia Foundation was established to continue the fight for a better life. Now, the Foundation is focusing on finding better treatments and cures for it’s patients. Today, patients are living into their 60’s and 70’s. Unfortunately, the Giordano’s first child, Vivian lived to be 43, leaving behind her husband and their young child.
When Jimmy was up against extensive challenges, he turned to his faith. He had been dedicated to his faith since childhood. He relied on his belief in Christ to give him the answers when no one else had them. He was a loyal and dedicated Christian. He went to mass every Sunday. He established a strong rapport with the priests and clergy of the church. He taught his children to believe in the Holy Spirit and the miracles that God gives us. He developed a spiritual relationship with God that was visible in the way he spoke about the Lord and the gifts he had received. Jimmy was able to see past the challenges and find the solution. He was also able to accept when things didn’t go the way he planned. Over his lifetime, he generously supported his church community through donations, devoting his time to running fundraisers and teaching religious education. Every week he gave an hour of his time for adoration hour. He became an Eucharistic Minister and visited with the sick and offered them the Holy Eucharist.
Jimmy was also very generous with his earnings. He often donated to many Catholic charitable organizations and gave to the poor. He gave without expecting anything in return. He did it out of the goodness of his heart. Some of his greatest offerings were to the priests who came from third world countries. He graciously supported their missions to help their communities back home by supporting their ideas to build schools and improve their communities.
James Giordano was a highly respectable humanitarian. He mastered every aspect of being a humanitarian by:
- Being dedicated to causes
- Giving back to society
- Easing suffering and removing hardship
- Having compassion
- Helping others.
His actions exemplify the definition of the word humanitarian as someone who improves people’s lives and reduces suffering. Jimmy Giordano loved his family and friends. He was often described as someone who would give you the shirt off his back. He had done that literally and figuratively. He cared deeply for all human life and lived his life trying his best to make other people’s lives better. This world is a better place because he was in it. For all the reasons mentioned above, we want to honor his legacy through this foundation.
Please consider making a donation to the James and Gina Foundation. The monies will go to helping people just like Jimmy and Gina were given help to aid in their own cause. Their unyielding dedication to supporting the Cooley’s Anemia Foundation has led to helping the children grow into mature, productive individuals who contribute to society today. Many medical advancements have been created and developed since the early 1960’s. Today, practices in Genetic Engineering and Stem Cell Therapy have made a breakthrough in how the younger patients can be cured. Research is still desperately needed to find a viable cure that safely works for the entire Thalassemia community, young and old alike. What’s even better is that once a safe and viable cure is available to Thalassemia patients around the world, doors will open to benefit advancements in medical research for many other genetic disorders, such as Cystic Fibrosis, Aplastic Anemia, Sickle Cell Anemia, and Hemophilia. Thank you for supporting our Foundation.
