New Haven Boxer Tramaine Williams and Gary Bimonte Host Kids from CLICC for Pizza Making at Frank Pepe's

Over the weekend, featherweight boxer and New Haven-native Tramaine Williams hosted youth from Connecting Through Literacy: Incarcerated Parents, Their Children, and Caregivers (CLICC) at Frank Pepe Pizzeria in New Haven for a pizza making community event. During the event, pizza making lessons were taught by Gary Bimonte, grandson of Frank Pepe and master pizzaiolo and Colin M. Caplan, author, historian and owner of Taste of New Haven, and the children learned about history of pizza in the city. Additionally, each child received a copy of Pizza in New Haven by Colin M. Caplan through the generosity of Roc Nation Sports boxing promoter Dino Duva. 

Williams was inspired to host this event through his own struggles with incarnated parents, as his grandmother raised him and his siblings while both of his parents were in jail during his youth.

Connecting Through Literacy: Incarcerated Parents, Their Children, and Caregivers (CLICC) is a Connecticut-based non-profit program. We use mentoring and literacy activities to strengthen communication and deepen bonds between children and their incarcerated parents. Our goal is to reduce recidivism rates for incarcerated mothers and fathers, while also reducing the shame and stigma that their children can experience. To learn more, please visit connectingfamilies.org.

This event was made possible by Taste of New Haven, Frank Pepe Pizzeria and Roc Nation Sports.