Al Petrilli’s annual bash raises $150,000 in one night for the Marie C. Petrilli Cancer Fund
There is one word that best describes Al Petrilli’s annual “The White Party” that was held outdoors on the grounds of his beautiful home in Winthrop: Special.
Yes, special in the sense that more than 300 guests attended the impressive, Hamptons-style event and enjoyed a festive night of great food, friends, and music in what Al humbly calls, “my yard.”
But even more special is the fact that Al Petrilli and his guests combined to raise $150,000 for the Marie C. Petrilli Cancer Fund that helps cancer patients and their caretakers and support students aspiring to enter the health profession as nurses. It is the only fundraiser of year for the Cancer Fund.
The amount of money raised is astounding when you consider there are no major corporate sponsors of the event. “It is just the people that attend the party that night,” said Petrilli. “In the 25 years of the fund,” we’ve raised over $2 million, and we’ve given over $1 million to cancer patients, along with “Courageous” awards to patients who keep fighting the disease for years.”
A Tribute to Marie Petrilli
Al Petrilli and Marie Petrilli dated for five years and were married for 11 years.
“Marie was a remarkable lady that died at the age of 39 [after being diagnosed with cancer at 37),” said Petrilli. “As beautiful as she was on the outside, she was even more beautiful on the inside. When she died, my son, Albert, was nine years old, and my daughter, Marielle was six.”
Al Petrilli and his brother, David Petrilli decided to launch the Cancer Fund soon after Marie’s death.
“The big challenge was to say, ‘Am I going to keep Marie’s spirit alive for the kids and myself and the family, or am I going to do damage to the kids because I wanted to start the fund right away?’’’
The Petrilli brothers held their first fundraiser in November, 1999, at the Winthrop Yacht Club.
Through the years, the fundraisers have been held in different venues, but the events have now seemed to find a permanent home – at Al Petrilli’s Nahant Avenue where this year’s “White Party” was held on a perfect summer evening.
Petrilli said “the theme this year was the 25th year anniversary of Marie’s passing, which was June 19,1999.”
Helping the future of nursing
Al Petrilli said the Marie C. Petrilli Fund caps its grants at $5,000 to individuals.
“The money goes toward improving cancer patient care, which includes cancer patients, scholarships to oncology nurses (67 individual nurses have received more than $250,000), and capital improvements at Mass General. Twenty-five years ago, we bought the first blanket warmer at Mass General (at a cost of $8,000) because we thought it was so important for cancer patients in chemotherapy sessions to be warm and comfortable. If you walk through a hospital, you see blanket warmer everywhere.”
A man who loves the town of Winthrop, Al Petrilli takes considerable pride in the fact that the Cancer Fund gives scholarships annually to Winthrop High School students.
“If we find that there’s a group of seniors at the high school that are going into nursing, we will give each student a scholarship,” said Petrilli. “That scholarship maybe helps pay for their books in their freshman year in college.”
Petrilli said the goal of the Fund has always been to help researchers find a cure for cancer.
“We said it from the very beginning that we want to see a cure, so we’ve given up to 10 percent of our year’s funding to cancer research,” said Petrilli.
Reflecting on the success of the annual party, Petrilli said proudly, “Over the years, [the Marie C. Petrilli Fund] has done what we wanted it do – keep Marie’s spirit alive. And my children now take a very important role in helping us to execute the process of raising funds and helping cancer patients.”
And Marie C. Petrilli would certainly be filled with joy about the continuing achievements of her two children, Albert Petrilli, a graduate of Endicott College who works at NewFed Mortgage with his father and has twin, two-year-old girls, Ava and Adelyn, with his wife, Rachel; and Marielle Petrilli, who is a graduate of Stonehill College and Simmons College nurse practitioner at Mass General Hospital.
“I’m very proud of both kids,” said Al, a former Revere High School and BU star quarterback.
“The 25 years of fundraising has helped them to mature and keep their mother’s spirit alive and has made them even stronger young adults that I’m so proud of.”