Giovanni Valle

Tissue donor

Age 13 – Riverside, CA

Donated on 11/12/2014

at Riverside Community Hospital

Honored by OneLegacy

Giovanni Valle was a thirteen-year-old boy who had many goals and dreams for the future. He was kind, loving and full of life, and he always looked for ways to help others. Gio was a great student; he took honors classes, played soccer in his spare time, and played the trombone in his school band. Giovanni’s love for drawing and his passion for helping others in need made him hope to study architecture after graduating from high school, so he could eventually design and help build housing for the homeless and needy. Gio died one morning while on his way to school, when an intoxicated driver struck him after crossing a red light. His parents wanted to honor Gio’s giving spirit and they decided to donate his tissue. Thanks to this generous gift, Giovanni has provided hope and healing to many through his donation.

Giovanni’s Story

Giovanni Valle was a thirteen-year-old boy who had many goals and dreams for the future. He was kind, loving and full of life, and he always looked for ways to help others. Gio was a happy kid and he was always eager to share his happiness with those he loved. He always put his needs last, and wanted to help his family and friends in every way he could.

Gio was a great student and he was taking honors classes at Sierra Middle School. He also played soccer in his spare time and he participated in extracurricular activities, like playing trombone for his school band. Gio had hopes that he could be part of a high school band and participate in school competitions. Gio was also a big fan of videogames and he enjoyed playing them and posting video reviews on YouTube. He also loved drawing and he even won an Elementary School competition for a sea-inspired drawing he created.

Giovanni’s love for drawing and his passion for helping others in need made him hope to study architecture after graduating from high school, so he could eventually design and help build housing for people who didn’t have a place to live. Even though he was sometimes bullied in school, Gio’s kind spirit was always looking for ideas to help those who did not have food to eat, or a place to call home.

One day, just a couple of weeks before his death, Giovanni noticed his dad had a pink dot on his license. He asked his dad about it and he learned about organ, eye, and tissue donation. When his dad explained that he was a donor, Gio mentioned that he wanted to do the same when the time would come for him to get his driver’s license.

Gio died one morning while on his way to school, when an intoxicated driver struck him after crossing a red light. His parents wanted to honor Gio’s giving spirit and they decided to donate his tissue. Thanks to this generous gift, he has provided hope and healing to many through donation.