A picture of the donation table out back of Rite Aid
Rite Aid is known for donating millions of dollars to Rady Children’s Hospital. Six weeks out of every year, Rite Aid stores across the country are required to host a fundraiser for the hospital. Many stores just give the option of donating along with your bill, or have a bucket with the hospital’s logo for cash at the front counter. However, the Coronado Rite Aid takes the fundraiser to a whole new level. For a while they were doing it the old-fashioned way with just a bucket for donations, but about four years ago everything changed.
Meet John Muzio
Many of you have probably seen John when you’ve popped into the drug store. John’s been working at our local Rite Aid for five years now, and four years ago his whole life changed. For much of his life, John was living with a cross-eye. Also called Strabismus, this anomaly is most-often found in children. Luckily it is easily fixable. However, John didn’t know this and was afraid to get it checked out for financial reasons. With the encouragement of his manager, Rita Perez, John finally went to a medical center to see if it would be possible to get the help he desired. What’s unique about Strabismus is that because it is so commonly found in children, there are a lack of surgeons specializing in this area for adults. Because of this, John was referred to an expert at Rady Children’s Hospital who was able to fix his eye no problem. The key thing here is that, because of the generous funding provided to Rady from Rite Aid and various other companies, John was able to be operated on free of charge. The whole time that John thought he was held back because of financial troubles, Rady Children’s Hospital was waiting for him.
After the surgery, John was a changed man. Before, John was timid and wouldn’t want to look customers in the eye. However, after his surgery he became an optimistic, outspoken person. When it came to the time of year again for the annual fundraiser, John wanted to do more to give back to the place that gave him so much. “I was so blessed when my eye was fixed that I wanted to take it to another level and raise as much money I possibly could with the six weeks.” John said as he was describing his efforts for the cause. Starting four years ago, right after John’s surgery, our Rite Aid decided to set up a bake sale in which people can donate however much money they want and take a few desserts in return. For most of the days during the six weeks, John goes into work at least three hours early and often stays after his shift is over, manning the table and encouraging locals to donate for the cause.
Meet Rita Perez
Rita Perez has been the manager of the Coronado Rite Aid for ten years now. She told me that her main role in the fundraiser was a cheerleader, but it’s apparent that she does much more than just that. Her and her fourteen-year-old daughter do all of the baking for the table out back, and every Saturday Rita’s Daughter comes in to the store and mans the bake sale along with John. Rita and her daughter are regular volunteers at the Children’s Hospital. Many weekends they go in and do face painting and similar activities for the kids. This year for the fundraiser, Rita and John really wanted to take it up a notch. Rita went out and bought a backyard fire pit with her own money to raffle off! Rita told me that the people of Coronado are “Very giving and generous. We’ve been very blessed.” Their goal is to raise as much money as they possibly can. They’ve already raised over 3,000 dollars and are still counting!
After speaking to Rita and John about the fundraiser, I was extremely moved. Not only is it a great cause, but one can see from the way they talk that their hearts are truly in it. Never would I have guessed that John was once a shy person before his surgery. Head over to Rite Aid and donate now, I would recommend the chocolate chip cookies!
The raffle for the fire pit is going on until Saturday, right before Mother’s Day! Tickets are $5 each!
View of the store from Orange
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Kristin Lindeman
eCoronado
Staff Writer Intern
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