Jon Bon Jovi made ten-year-old Mario Carpino very happy last Saturday when the rock star turned up to Mario’s fundraiser for pediatric cancer.
When Mario was four years old, he was diagnosed with a number of inoperable brain tumours. He has been through rounds of gruelling chemotherapy and in a bid to help other children with cancer, he started to fundraise.
Mario has raised $150,000 since teaming up with childhood cancer charity, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation and Saturday marked his fourth annual fundraiser.
With the help of his family, Mario had started a Facebook campaign in a bid to get the attention of Jon Bon Jovi but they didn’t receive any response from the famous frontman.
However on Saturday, the Carpino family got the surprise of their lives, when Jon Bon Jovi turned up to Mario’s fundraiser, held in Swedesboro, New Jersey, Marios’s hometown.
Bon Jovi told the Carpinos that his son had told him about the fundraiser and insisted he should go. The famous rock star spent time with Mario, talking and drinking lemonade and Mario’s mother, Anna, spoke of how much this meant to Mario.
“He was so genuine and he wanted to be there for Mario,” Anna, who spent months organising donations and promoting the event, said of the 52-year-old rocker when speaking to Yahoo!
“Little did we know that he would just show up and surprise him,” Anna said, “As much as I wanted it to be him, I thought it couldn’t happen. I just started breaking down, crying, and shaking. I was a hot mess!”
@BonJovi this picture says it all . Pure Love right here . Thank you for being there for Mario . You are Amazing ! pic.twitter.com/QMI0vq1k8w
— Marios Fight (@MariosFight) June 10, 2014
