Sometimes, all it takes is one moment to inspire a lifetime. For Don Dellaquila, that moment was his first Team IMPACT Game Day Gala. “My first [Game Day] Gala I attended opened my eyes to the power of Team IMPACT. My emotions ran from crying one minute to a joyous smile the next, listing to all the speakers and watching the children,” he said. “At that point, I was already hooked. I made a commitment that I was in for the long run.”
Don is a Lead Business Consultant at DATTCO, a family-owned transportation company that provides school bus and ground transport services across New England. Don immediately connected to Team IMPACT’s values of teamwork, camaraderie, empathy, resilience, and boldness and decided to bring these values and Team IMPACT’s mission back to his colleagues at DATTCO.
This past year, Don attended the Game Day Gala again, this time with members of the DATTCO staff as guests. “I was so proud to bring DATTCO with me to the Gala, sitting back and watching our President and COO feel a sense of pride to be part of this wonderful organization,” Don said. DATTCO was so inspired by Team IMPACT’s work that they gave a donation, part of which supported eight-year-old Mona’s Signing Day with the Quinnipiac women’s volleyball team. Supporting Mona’s Signing Day was a no-brainer for Don and DATTCO as Mona’s mom, Kamal, and her grandfather, Barry, are both DATTCO employees.
“DATTCO supports Team IMPACT because of its mission to improve the quality of life for children facing serious illness and disability through the power of team. This aligns with DATTCO’s companies values of community involvement and social responsibility,” Don said. “The motivation to continue support often comes from seeing the positive impact on the children and their families, as well as the sense of fulfillment and purpose it brings to the team members involved.”
Team IMPACT and DATTCO know that being a good teammate requires communication, reliability, support, adaptability, and a positive attitude. Just as each dollar makes a difference in providing this life-changing program to children and teams across the country, each individual like Don makes a difference in striving to get all kids in the game.
