Christopher G. Gegwich Foundation

06/05/2026

It’s scholarship season for the Foundation!

Last week, Grant was at Berwick Area Senior High School to present the Christopher G. Gegwich Memorial Scholarship to a deserving senior named Angel Parada-Viera. Angel is a talented artist and animator who submitted an outstanding video about his passion for the arts that he’s had since he was just a boy.

He is going to continue his education at Point Park University in Pittsburgh. We wish this bulldog all the best.

05/05/2026

The Foundation is proud to support the Berwick Boys Youth Basketball camp this year. Chris loved basketball, played for the Bulldogs, and was a coach/counselor at this same camp. We’re glad to help the next generation of Berwick basketball stars will have a fun, safe, and educational experience this summer.

Registration is open for the 2026 Berwick Boys Youth Basketball Camp June 8-11 at the Berwick Varsity Gymnasium. This year, we are extremely excited to announce a partnership with the Christopher G. Gegwich Foundation to make this camp the best ever. Please check out their page to see all the great opportunities they provide for students around the area.

As a youth basketball program, we are committed to providing opportunities to anyone who is interested, regardless of skill level or financial concerns. While there are costs associated with running this event, we want to make sure no kid misses out because of financial constraints. If affordability is a concern, please contact us privately to discuss options for your son to attend.

09/27/2025

Several Gegwiches went to Ithaca last weekend for the third annual Christopher G. Gegwich Memorial Basketball Tournament. The foundation supported this annual event for students through a grant to Ithaca College, which is Chris and Michelle’s alma mater. The tournament benefited from some beautiful September weather - a great day for hoops.

Thanks to all foundation supporters for helping to make events like this possible.

Donations to the foundation can be made via Venmo (), PayPal ([email protected]) or mail to P.O. Box 349, Centerport, NY 11721-1155.

06/14/2025

In our final scholarship presentation of this spring, we presented Christopher G. Gegwich Memorial Scholarships to two students at Berwick Area Senior High School, Chris's alma mater.

Landon Hess is passionate about communications storytelling through the use of writing and cameras, and has used media to uplift and spotlight his community. Landon submitted an expertly shot and edited video that demonstrated his talent. He plans to continue his education in integrated media and design at Luzerne County Community College.

Olivia Ellzy is passionate about mental health advocacy. During her high school career, she dedicated herself to awareness, stigma elimination, and helping others though community service, fund-raising, and even just lending a listening ear. She plans to study psychology at East Stroudsburg University.

The Foundation team was not able to be there in person for the presentation, unfortunately, but we wish these deserved recipients the very best of luck.

Our efforts would not be possible without everyone who has generously supported the Foundation. As a reminder, donations can be made via Venmo () or PayPal ([email protected]).

06/09/2025

The Foundation was once again glad to support Harborfields High School - the school where Chris and Michelle's sons Nate and Quin attended - this year with memorial scholarships in Chris's name. We received so many excellent nominations that we awarded $1,000 Christopher G. Gegwich Memorial Scholarships to three deserving students: Brooke Brown, Abigail Buckley, and Lila Porzio. Once again, we asked the students to submit an essay or video telling us what they are passionate about.

Brooke Brown found her passion at an early age. Inspired by watching the Sound of Music and the Wizard of Oz with her grandmother, this person fell in love with musical theater. She eagerly joined her first theater class at just four or five years old. She earned her first role at just seven years old, and since then she has performed in over 20 musicals and two plays.

She has also volunteered to share her passion with others by volunteering at a musical theater camp. And she hopes to continue performing – and volunteering – in theater while studying political science/pre-law at the University of Georgia.

Abigail Buckley is passionate about community service, and specifically supporting the Harborfields Alliance for Community Outreach, which provides food and supplies to families dealing with food insecurity. She worked with HACO for all four years of high school, and she was voted co-president in her junior year. She led the Gift-a-Wish program to help families with gifts over the holidays and helped organize the Souper Bowl program to collect soup for families in February.

Abigail plans to continue her community service while she attends the University of Florida.

Lila Porzio told us in her essay how a game that started as a “fun hobby” in kindergarten quickly became her biggest passion and something that has taught her work ethic, determination, and teamwork. That passion is lacrosse.

Her hard work has paid off with success on the field and the opportunity to play lacrosse at the collegiate level at the University of Chicago. She has also found time to share her love and expertise with others by volunteering for Police Athletic League lacrosse camps as well as helping to coach a 2nd grade team. She hopes to continue these volunteer efforts during her time as a college student in Chicago.

Congratulations to all three amazing students!

Our efforts would not be possible without everyone who has generously supported the Foundation. As a reminder, donations can be made via Venmo () or PayPal ([email protected]).

Michelle Sapio Gegwich

06/08/2025

Congratulations to all graduates during this graduation season! For the Foundation, this is the time we get to recognize amazing students with deserving scholarships in memory of Chris.

First up this spring was the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University. Michelle Sapio Gegwich was on hand to present the Christopher G. Gegwich '99 Memorial Outstanding Law Student Award to Darielle Matthews. Darielle certainly fit the award's criteria of a "combination of those qualities and abilities that are the ideals of the legal profession." A native of Wheatley Heights, N.Y., Darielle participated in the Diversity Program and Hofstra Law Review and served as a Pro Bono Scholar at the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County. She will begin her legal career with a federal clerkship for the Honorable Craig T. Goldblatt, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. We wish Darielle the best of luck!

Our efforts would not be possible without everyone who has generously supported the Foundation. As a reminder, donations can be made via Venmo () or PayPal ([email protected]).

04/10/2025

On the anniversary of the day that we lost Christopher G. Gegwich, we are honored to remember him through the work of our Foundation. The Foundation recently passed its fourth anniversary, and we are proud that we’ve been able to keep Chris’ legacy alive in many ways. None of this would be possible without the support of the generous donors.

Thanks to your support, we’ve established scholarship programs at educational institutions that were important to Chris, including Hofstra University, Harborfields High School, and Berwick High School. To date, Christopher G. Gegwich Foundation scholarships have been awarded to 15 deserving students, providing them with monetary support to help them achieve their dreams. The Foundation is working to award these annual scholarships at all three schools this spring.

Thanks to your support, we provided a gift to the athletics department at Ithaca College that allowed the school to create the Christopher G. Gegwich Endowed Fund for Club Basketball, which in turn launched an annual student basketball tournament. The tournament gives dozens of Ithaca students a chance to enjoy a day of fun, competition and camaraderie. The third annual tournament of this new tradition will take place this fall.

Thanks to your support, we’ve made donations to several organizations that meant a lot to Chris, including the Vanderbilt Museum and the American Museum of Natural History. These donations supported the revitalization of the Carriage House at the Vanderbilt Museum and in-person and virtual programming at the American Museum of Natural History.

We miss Chris every day. We’re proud that the Christopher G. Gegwich Foundation has made a mark on the lives of many people - just like Chris did. And we have more plans in store. With that in mind, we welcome additional support to help us keep our little foundation thriving and vital. If you’re inclined, donations can be made via:

Venmo:
PayPal: [email protected]
Mail (via check to the Christopher G. Gegwich Foundation): P.O. Box 349, Centerport, NY 11721-1155

09/21/2024

Dozens of Ithaca College students enjoyed the second annual Christopher G. Gegwich Basketball Tournament this past weekend. Michelle, Brenden, and Grant were on hand at Chris and Michelle's alma mater to award trophies to the winning teams in two divisions on a beautiful day for hoops. Many thanks to the College's staff for putting together such a great event.

07/14/2024

Rounding out the Foundation's annual student scholarships was the Christopher G. Gegwich Outstanding Law Student Award at Hofstra University (Chris's alma mater), which is presented each year to a graduating student who has shown a combination of those qualities and abilities that are the ideals of the legal profession. Michelle attended the Maurice A. Deane School of Law's annual Public Service and Graduate Awards to present this year's honor to Nicholas Tramposch.

At Hofstra, Nicholas served on the Law Review, Moot Court Board, Dispute Resolution Society, and the Business Law Society. Prior to enrolling at Hofstra Law, Nicholas graduated magna cm laude from Syracuse University (Grant's alma mater as well!) with a bachelor's degree in Biotechnology and Finance.

We are glad to sponsor this annual award and wish Nicholas the best of luck in his career!

06/02/2024

Congratulations to this year's Christopher G. Gegwich Memorial Scholarship recipient at Berwick High School, Eden Savoy. Eden wrote an outstanding essay about her passion for journalism. Eden went from drafting a too-long first article for the school paper, The Student Times, to becoming the paper's editor-in-chief and earning several state journalism awards. The distinguished honor roll student found time to maintain a 99.6 average, play varsity softball and volleyball, and volunteer for a variety of nonprofits.

She said, "I found a passion, something I wanted to do forever, and direction to lead my future towards. I found an area where there never was a true right answer, meaning I could push myself to improve forever, while combining aspects of my personality to move toward success."

Grant was on hand at BHS this week to present the award to Eden. Congrats again to Eden, and best of luck. We know that you have a bright future.