South Jersey heart recipient to run in honor of donor in Philadelphia
John Paul Cavalieri has set up a foundation in his donor's name to help families with critical illnesses.
SWEDESBORO, New Jersey (WPVI) -- A South Jersey heart transplant recipient is running in honor of his donor this weekend in the Gift of Life's Donor Dash.
In 2019, John Paul Cavalieri suffered an electrical shock that eventually sent him into heart failure. He was days away from death when he finally received a heart transplant in 2022.
His donor was 22-year-old Jack Sinnott.
READ MORE: Gloucester County man suffers electrical shock, sending him on journey of life or death
Cavalieri, of Swedesboro, now serves as support for others going through heart transplants, and he's set up a foundation in Jack's name to help families with critical illnesses and struggling financially.
"I don't take life for granted because I want to honor him," he said. "I have a second chance at life with my family."
All because that young man made a selfless donation by signing up as a donor at 17 years old.
"He was a very, very generous person. He was empathetic to other people. He always put other people first," said Cherie Sinnott of Safety Harbor, Florida.
For the first time since his death, Jack's mother talked exclusively to Action News about her son.
"He had the most beautiful, pure heart. So for a lot of different reasons, I wanted to know where it was," she told Action News.
Baseball was near and dear to Jack. When his sisters organized a fundraiser at a Mets game last summer, Cavalieri said, "I'll be there."
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"It was the most emotional meeting. For us, for all of Jack's friends, for my girls, everybody could not get enough of John Paul," said Cherie.
"Every person that I met had so many amazing things to say about Jack. It was just overwhelming with happiness with sadness," said Cavalieri.
The families have embraced each other as extensions of their own -- even traveling from Florida to see Cavalieri run in the 27th annual Donor Dash this weekend.
"I'm appreciative for them to take the trip up here for that," said Cavalieri.
"I appreciate how he's not taking it for granted. He's grateful. He's going to make the best of it. He's gone above and beyond so far, and he has no plans on stopping," said Cherie.
It's all in an effort to keep Jack's memory alive.
"He passed away so young and he deserves for his memory to constantly be in the forefront," said Cherie.
Jack's donation not only saved Cavalieri's life but he also helped five other families. This year is a special one for Gift of Life as it celebrates its 50th anniversary. The Donor Dash is on Sunday, April 28, at the Navy Yard in South Philadelphia
