By Cary Shuman
When Parker Vitagliano-Hill saw her mother, Alicia Vitagliano, working on a grant for the Epilepsy Foundation of New England, she said, ‘Oh, that’s pretty cool, when I get old enough, I would like to do that.”
Alicia informed her daughter that there was no age minimum for submitting grant proposals. “I told, Parker, ‘whenever you have an idea, please let me know, and we’ll support you.’’’
Within minutes, Parker told her mother she had “a great idea.”
“Instantly, Parker had this idea for a rugby 7s tournament in the summer to help raise money to help other kids around New England defray the cost of seizure alert dogs.”
Utilizing the funds from a grant by the Epilepsy Foundation of New England’s Blue Skies Challenge, Parker started the New England Rugby 7s Tournament, which she called Rosie’s Ruck. The inaugural event was held Sunday, July 19 at the Irish Cultural Center of Greater Boston in Canton. The tournament was a huge success with six teams of adults competing. Interestingly, the Tartan Army – the huge contingent of soccer fans who were in the Boston area for the World Cup – was among the attendees at the tournament. The Scots even took the field in their kilts and participated in a rugby match.
Inspired by her sister
Parker’s noble endeavor was inspired by her younger sister Alana Vitagliano-Hill’s journey. At the age of two, Alana was diagnosed with epilepsy.
“We wanting to do something actionable and getting a seizure alert dog was something that was very important to us,” said Alicia. “Alana’s treatment team at Mass General Hospital thought it would be a great idea. They helped us get connected with a dog trainer, and we were able to have the dog trainer handpick Rosie for us from an ethical breeder, which was really important to us. Rosie trained with her for about a year to 18 months, and then moved in with us full time, and Roise is a five-year-old chocolate labrador right now.”
Parker said she saw the positive impact that Rosie had on her sister’s life and wanted to help other children.
“I wanted to make sure that every kid around New England had a service dog that could help them,” said Parker. “My sister has had a better life. It’s very important because some kids with epilepsy don’t have seizure alert dogs, and that can be very tough on their family money-wise. Because if your child has epilepsy and they have a seizure, you might not know it, and that’s why a dog can be very helpful.”
Parker said she chose the sport of rugby for the tournament because she herself is a rugby player “and it’s a community-based sport.”
Parker plays for the Mystic Rugby Club, which is the one of the oldest and most celebrated rugby clubs in the region.
“Parker has been playing rugby since she was four years old, and Alana (who is eight years old and a student at the Bradley School in East Boston) also plays,” said Alicia. “And my husband [Jayson Hill] is a rugby coach as well.”
Parker also plays ice hockey for the North America Hockey Association (NAHA) Junior Hawks program based in Canton. She will be a candidate for the girls’ hockey team at Fontbonne Academy where she is an eighth grader.
Parker inherited her passion for sports and her excellence in athletics from her parents. Alicia played field hockey, basketball, and softball at the Pingree School in Hamilton and was a softball player at Scripps College in California. Jayson Hill was a track and soccer standout at Danvers High School.
A display of
superb leadership
Parker’s total command of the tournament process from its inception to completion was indeed an impressive feat.
“Parker did all of it,” said her mother. “She proposed the grant and was asked to present it live in front of 200 adults. At the tournament itself, Parker did interviews and answered tons of questions about epilepsy and helped people try rugby for the first time. She was doing a little bit of everything.”
Parker also designed the logo and selected the trophies for the tournament, whose proceeds went to the Rosie’s Ruck Foundation. Families will be able to apply to Rosie’s Ruck for grants to help defray the cost of obtaining a dog and its training.
“There are only a few people around the country that will train for seizure alert dogs,” noted Alicia. “We were lucky enough to find a trainer in North Chelmsford, Nicole Tran of Canine Odyssey. She was terrific.”
Proud parents
Understandably, Alicia and Jayson are proud of daughter Parker’s tournament-organizing efforts.
“We’re so proud of both our daughters,” said Alicia. “We’re so excited to see all the potential that Parker will be unfolding with Alana. I know she doesn’t particularly love compliments from her mom, but I am over the moon excited about what she started, and what she’s going to continue to do as she gets older.”
(Information from press materials was used in the compilation of this story).