Buffalo, New York, May 17, 2024 – Hospice & Palliative Care Buffalo (HPCB) will celebrate a brand-new Rocks of Unity™ wall inside their Hospice In-Patient Unit with an intimate viewing reception on Monday, May 20th at 4:00 pm. HPCB is pleased to be the chosen home of this unique and compelling installation, donated by Buffalonian Alexa Zappia, honoring the memory of her family’s loved ones, Dr. Hanley Horwitz, Steve Zappia, and Colette Zappia, whom HPCB had the privilege to care for. The impact of these experiences inspired Alexa to seek a way to impact HPCB’s campus, in return, with this special installation.
Rocks of Unity™ was established by Alexa Zappia in 2017 in honor of her mentor, Susan Wehle, who lost her life in the Flight 3407 plane crash in Clarence Center in 2009. Susan was an advocate for cross-cultural dialogue and coexistence.
Rocks of Unity™ brings together people of all backgrounds, religions, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, and social distinctiveness to decorate rocks that express their identity. Individual contributions become permanent community installations, showcasing and reinforcing the values of inclusion, acceptance, and kindness while rejecting intolerance and hate, ultimately contributing to greater understanding and stronger communities.
This installation is made up of rocks created by Harry Connick Jr’s show audience members, various celebrities including Kristin Chenoweth, and numerous individual contributions from participants in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, and New York.
Since its inception, Rocks of Unity™ has grown from engagement in one school in Buffalo, NY to activity in over twenty-five different countries and thirty-five different states. Rocks of Unity™ Rock Stars engage celebrities representing their identity in solidarity with these foundational values and include participants such as Andy Cohen, Ryan Seacrest, Kelly Ripa, Michael Buble, and Robby from the Goo Goo Dolls.
“We are thrilled to play an integral role in displaying such a powerful representation of inclusion, acceptance, and kindness,” stated Elizabeth Siderakis, EVP, Hospice Foundation. “It is especially meaningful to us that Alexa chose to install this wall here, in memory of her family loved ones, where she shared her and her late grandpa’s favorite Kristin Chenoweth song ‘Fathers and Daughters’ the night before his passing—not far down the hall from where the installation now resides.”
More information about Rocks of Unity™ can be found at https://www.rocksofunity.com/.
