Press Contact:
Joanne DiFrancesco
JDCommunications, Inc.
(781) 828-0323
www.jdcomm.biz
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, please…
December 8, 2011
NEW ENGLANDERS BAND TOGETHER TO HELP RE-BUILD
WILMINGTON, VERMONT
- Entire downtown area devastated by tropical storm Irene With the holidays approaching there is no better time than now for neighbors to come together for
a good cause. After tropical storm Irene swept through the east coast, communities in many areas
of New England were virtually devastated. Wilmington, Vermont is one of the towns that
sustained severe damage. Revival will take years.
But that will soon change. Chris Zizza, president of C&R Flooring – headquartered in Needham,
MA, with a second location in downtown Wilmington, is spearheading an ambitious effort to
raise awareness and funds to help rebuild the downtown Wilmington area. With the help of
friends and neighbors in Massachusetts, New York and Vermont, he founded The Friends of the
Valley Foundation. Through multiple fundraising efforts, Zizza and the foundation hope to raise
enough to rebuild a number of businesses, starting with the North Star Bowl and Community
Center, which was completely destroyed. North Star Bowl was one of the Wilmington’s residents
and visitors most frequented and loved venues.
“Once these storms come and go, many of us forget about what happened and the people effected
who are right in our own back yard,” states Zizza. “Think about how Mississippi is still
recovering from the devastation caused by Katrina. The same is true in Vermont. It’s not a front
page story anymore so it is easy to forget how our neighbors in Vermont are struggling.”
Zizza also lost his Wilmington business in the storm. Irene left the Deerfield Valley area of
Vermont in shambles, after the state experienced it's most massive flooding since 1933. Aside
from gutting homes and businesses in the town of Wilmington, the storm also cut the community
off from the rest of the world after flooding wiped out all major roads and bridges.
Part of the re-building plan for North Star Bowl includes the dedication of the Community Room
in memory of Charlie Brown – a longtime seasonal resident of Wilmington who passed away
suddenly this past June. Charlie’s company, C.W. Brown – a commercial contracting firm
located in Thornwood, New York and now run by Charlie’s wife, Renee - is working with the
Friends of the Valley Foundation by rallying employees of the company to volunteer their time to
provide the construction labor, supplies, etc. Work from Brown’s team is already underway.
MORE....
REBUILDING WILMINGTON/Pg. 2
“We already have received so much positive feedback on what we plan to do,” states Zizza.
“Now we need everyone to hop on board and support our efforts.”
Several events planned to help with the cause include:

Holiday Open House on December 16th 5:30PM - 10:30 PM at the C&R Flooring
showroom, 65 Crawford Street, Needham. This benefit includes a wine and scotch
tasting, refreshments, music, and a silent auction. This event is FREE and open to the
public. RSVP is requested at 781-444-1553.

Bruce Springsteen Signed Guitar & Concert Package - an exclusive raffle including a
signed, Springsteen Fender guitar (value $10,000), 2 tickets to an upcoming Bruce
Springsteen concert during his 2012 tour (dates TBD), hotel and airfare. Only 750 tickets
will be sold. Raffle tickets are priced at $100 each and will be available at the Holiday
open house or can be purchased on the Friends of the Valley website –
www.friendsofdeerfieldvalley.org.

Friends of the Valley New Years Eve Party – Saturday, December 31st at the partially
renovated North Star Bowl. The night will include live music, raffles, and refreshments.
Tickets and more will be forthcoming.
"There is no better time than now to help out a neighbor in need. It's easy to lose track of how
significant the act of one American helping another can be. One person can certainly make a
difference, but when that person has the support of others that is when things really start to
happen," said Zizza.
The Friends of the Valley Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 charity. All donations are tax
deductable. For more information about the organization, to make a donation, or to purchase
raffle tickets for the Bruce Springsteen package, visit www.friendsofdeerfieldvalley.org. Checks
are also accepted and can be mailed to The Friends of the Valley Foundation, P.O. Box 1641,
Wilmington, VT 05363.
For more information, contact Chris Zizza at C&R Flooring, (781) 444-1553. Press inquiries:
contact Joanne DiFrancesco, JDCommunications, Inc. at (781) 828-0323 or
jdcommunications@verizon.net.
###