Bracelets honor a brother – and benefit Dana-Farber Holiday Cards and Gifts

As he embarked on an investment banking career, Fred Magnanimi vowed two things: He’d never live in his native Rhode Island, and he would never work in his family’s jewelry manufacturing business. Now he’s doing both – and Dana-Farber’s Holiday Cards and Gifts presented by Amica Insurance is benefiting.

Love and loss inspired Magnanimi’s change of heart. His younger brother, Danny, was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) in May 2012, at 32. Danny was then running the family's factory with their father, and during his treatment at Dana-Farber, he shared with Fred his vision for growing the business.

After Danny died in 2013, Fred left New York City and finance to work alongside their dad back home. He fulfilled Danny’s dream by starting Luca and Danni, a company that handcrafts bracelets in the family factory. And to honor Danny’s memory and the care the Magnanimi family received here, Luca and Danni has designed two bracelets exclusively for Dana-Farber: a butterfly charm bangle and a teddy bear charm bangle. Both are offered in oxidized brass and silver-plated, and are available online and at select retail locations for $28 – with 100 percent of proceeds from sales going to the Jimmy Fund for pediatric and adult cancer research and care.

"The cancer didn't let Danny do what he wanted, so we're doing it for him," says Fred Magnanimi, who named Luca and Danni after his son and his daughter Stella Dani – with a second "n" added as a nod to his brother. "A large part of our business involves giving back to charities, and there is no greater cause for our family than Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund."

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The bracelets are among many items available through the 2016 collection of Dana-Farber Holiday Cards & Gifts, all of which are available online. Others include:

• More than 12 holiday cards designed by local artists, photographers, and Dana-Farber patients
• A variety of intricate pop-up holiday cards from Lovepop
• Exclusive Aunt Sadie’s candles
• New England Patriots and Boston Red Sox themed ChemArt holiday ornaments
• Cape Cod Colors cultured, fresh-water pearl necklace
• DuneJewelry golf travel divot repair tools and keychains offered with three different sands
• Serenade Chocolatier almond bark and classic handmade milk or dark chocolate gift boxes
• Dancing Deer gingerbread cookie house kits and bakery gift assortments
• Two Only in Rhode Island gift baskets featuring regional food, coffee, and books
• Boston Coffee Cake cinnamon walnut coffee cakes, in 12 miniature and tower styles
• Douglas Cuddle Toy Bella golden retriever cuddle toys, along with a special offer: Gift to a patient - make somebody’s holiday brighter by purchasing an additional huggable golden retriever to be delivered to a patient at Dana-Farber
• Scout Crown Jewels cosmetic bags
• Kidzooz ergonomic Chester The Dog, Bei The Giant Panda, and Chubby The Tiger pillows

The collection’s holiday cards are available in packages of 20 for $20 and depict festive New England scenes and traditional holiday designs. Both cards and envelopes can be imprinted with personal messages or company logos.

Also, several New England retailers are selling Dana-Farber Holiday Cards and Gifts in-store, including The Paper Store, Stop and Shop, The Crafty Yankee, Terrazza, and The Christmas Dove. The products can also be purchased at Dana-Farber's Friends' Corner Gift Shop, off the Yawkey Center lobby, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, and starting November 1, will be available for purchase from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Yawkey 2 and 3 and in the Dana lobby.

Dana-Farber Holiday Cards and Gifts have raised more than $7 million since 2003. For more information, or to view the entire collection, visit www.dana-farberholiday.org.