Love for the Ciampini family

Kahnawake, like the whole region, was gutted to learn about the tragic loss of a three-year-old girl, Ava Ciampini, when strong winds carried a bouncy castle into the air at a church picnic in LaSalle two weekends ago.

For the local hockey community, which counts Ava’s father Luca Ciampini as one of their own, the news was devastating. That’s why Kahnawake Minor Hockey Association (KMHA) players, parents, directors, and other members were among the hundreds of people who assembled for a vigil at the site of the accident on Tuesday, wanting to be there for Luca and his family at a nightmarish time.

“Just knowing how we’re in their thoughts and prayers and the support we’ve gotten from the Kahnawake community has been truly remarkable,” Luca said.

“Nobody wants to see this. Nobody wants to be through this. We understand how everybody’s grieving with us and giving us strength. All their love has reached out. We feel it, and we appreciate it so much.”

For the last several years, Luca has been the KMHA’s hockey director, helping Kahnawa’kehró:non youth develop their skills, advising coaches, and liaising with the league.

“He’s a great guy,” said Brianne Alfred, president of the KMHA. “He deeply cares about our community, our kids. He basically became like family to so many kids and their families. It’s just crazy the amount of time and effort he’s put into our community when he’s not even from Kahnawake.

“I think everybody’s deeply impacted because of how close he became with all the players and their families because of seeing him day in and day out. They just got to know him, and he’s just been there for people.”

Alfred and the rest of the KMHA brass are proud to see the way the local hockey community has rallied around Luca and his family.

“When there’s tough times and need, our community always comes together, and for the minor hockey community to do the same is strong, and I think that’s part of the core values that brings out the best in people through minor hockey,” she said.

“He was there for us, and we want to be there for him and his family.”

The vigil, which came just over a week after the May 31 accident, was above all a chance to remember and honour Ava.

“She was just special,” Luca said. “So beautiful, so smart, beautiful inside and out. Funny, always wanted to laugh, always wanted to play, dance, and sing. She was just the light of every day, the light of every room she walked into. She was just such an unbelievable presence.

“How special it was to see her relationships with myself and seeing it through my eyes with my wife and our son Milan, how caring she was and how she wanted to take care of everybody, how sweet and how tough she was. Everything was so special about her. The three years we had with her are definitely the best three years of our lives.

“Her last act was donating her organs. She’s living life through others now. Her last act was a heroic one and her legacy will live on forever.”

A GoFundMe for the Ciampini family has so far raised over $480,000 at the time of writing, with a goal of $600,000.

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Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter