BAF Changemaker: Evan Giarrusso
Evan Giarrusso, better known as EVAN GIIA, is a Brooklyn-based vocalist and Electropop performer from Hingham, Massachusetts. Evan and her family were devastated when they lost her uncle to a brain aneurysm rupture.
Evan Giarrusso, better known as EVAN GIIA, is a Brooklyn-based vocalist and Electropop performer from Hingham, Massachusetts. Evan and her family were devastated when they lost her uncle to a brain aneurysm rupture.
EG: In December of 2019, my uncle Patrick Fettuccia suffered a brain aneurysm rupture at my cousin’s hockey game and passed away just three days before Christmas. Patrick was otherwise healthy and only 53 years old. It came as such a shock to our big family. After his passing, I was determined to find a way to spread more awareness about aneurysms so that other families would not have to go through the same pain.
EG: I was introduced to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation when my cousin Eddie, Patrick’s son, ran the Boston Marathon in 2022 to raise money for the foundation. Eddie raised $26K which funded the first Patrick Fettuccia Chair of Research.
EG: I was shocked to hear how often people are affected by brain aneurysms and how little people know about the warning signs.I want to help spread the word so that lives can be saved.
I recently put on a concert at my alma mater, Thayer Academy in Braintree, Massachusetts, on behalf of my uncle Patrick to raise money for the foundation. We were able to raise 20K in support of brain aneurysm research which will go towards another Patrick Fettuccia Chair of Research and will be awarded in Boston at the 18th Annual Research Grant Symposium and 30th Anniversary celebration in September of 2024. Patrick was my biggest fan so there was no better way to honor him than through my music!
Written and produced by EVAN GIIA + MEMBA
EVAN GIIA wrote the lyrics of this song shortly after Patrick’s passing as a message of hope to her family. EVAN GIIA was lucky enough to hold Patrick’s hand at the very end and wanted to keep that memory alive in song.