Caroline Previdi ‘danced’ through life with ‘enthusiasm’
When Caroline Phoebe Previdi was 5, she brought her piggy bank to her parents just before Christmas and told them she was going to donate all her money to the family’s church.
“She wanted to make sure that every child had a present under the tree on Christmas morning,” her family recounts on the website for a foundation created in their daughter’s honor.
In the 10 years since Caroline was killed, her family has honored her legacy by doing what was important to her: helping others.
Caroline was one of the 20 students who died Dec. 14, 2012, in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which also took the lives of six educators.
She was a cheerful 6-year-old who loved to draw and dance, and had a smile that “brought happiness to everyone she touched,” according to her obituary.
Caroline was also a member of Saint Rose of Lima Church, where her funeral was held five days after the
tragedy.
During her funeral Mass, the pastor of the church told hundreds of people sitting and standing in a sea of pink — her favorite color — that the bright-eyed little girl was “probably the happiest addition to Heaven in a long time.”
To honor her memory, Caroline’s family created the Caroline Previdi Foundation — a nonprofit that provides financial support to children in Newtown and surrounding communities so they can participate in extracurricular activities.
The foundation uses proceeds from events like its annual Caroline Previdi Swim-A-Thon and other fundraising efforts to provide scholarships to children who would not otherwise be able to participate in such activities.
As of July, the foundation had provided 175 scholarships this year alone, according to a post on its Facebook page.
The foundation’s work is inspired by the enthusiasm Caroline had about her extracurricular activities — from Girl Scouts and gymnastics to soccer and swimming — as well as the compassion she had for others.
The foundation was established to share her caring and giving spirit, as well as “offer other children an opportunity to find joy in an activity they love,” according to the organization’s website.
Her family said she “danced through this life with enthusiasm and compassion,” and they wanted to carry on her legacy by helping other children, just like she would.
According to the foundation’s website, Caroline was an “exceptionally energetic” child who “embraced new activities in the same exuberant manner that she approached life” and “found delight in the smallest things in life.”
With her “sheer enthusiasm and zest for life,” Caroline’s family said it wasn’t difficult for her to elicit smiles from others — whether it be family, friends or even strangers.
“Her lighthearted nature was contagious,” according to the foundation website. “Her joy came from within, and she wanted to share it.”
To learn more about the Caroline Previdi Foundation, visit carolineprevidifoundation.org.