O'Connell appeals to community to help Destiny

By ROB OATLEY
Posted 10/10/19

By ROB OATLEY Warwick resident Jim O'Connell has invested a lot of his time to helping others and giving back to the community. He helped organize and run the 2011 and 2014 Friendly Sons of St. Patrick parade in West Warwick. Additionally, last summer

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O'Connell appeals to community to help Destiny

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Warwick resident Jim O’Connell has invested a lot of his time to helping others and giving back to the community. He helped organize and run the 2011 and 2014 Friendly Sons of St. Patrick parade in West Warwick. Additionally, last summer O’Connell organized an event at the Crowne Plaza raising $13,000 for 4-year-old Banner Mazza to assist in treating his genetic condition, of rapid-onset obesity with hypothalamic dysregulation, hypoventilation, and autonomic dysregulation (ROHHAD). By organizing selfless acts to benefit those in need O’Connell shows that he cares about the members in his community. This year he organized the Friends of Destiny donation in order to help Destiny Lourenco pay for her medical and school bills.  

In 2016 Warwick resident Misty Lourenco passed away due to Osteosarcoma, and left her eldest daughter Destiny to care for her three young brothers. Destiny is a 2013 graduate of Warwick Veterans Memorial High School, and attended Rhode Island College to be a Nurse before leaving to care for her family.

Since O’Connell’s daughter Jenna and son Daniel were very close to the Lourencos in high school, and through Warwick PAL, O’Connell wanted to help the family as much as he could. He co-signed her $11,000 Sallie Mae loan for RIC. Yet due to complications after her mother’s passing, Destiny withdrew from the college once again, and traveled to North Carolina to fulfill her mother’s dream of living there. 

“Before she passed” Destiny began, “My mom and I watched the North Carolina edition of Extreme Realtor and she said that after she got better, she wanted to move down here.”

After working in North Carolina as a certified nurse assistant, Destiny unfortunately developed Type I diabetes and has been unable to work. This circumstance resulted in her being evicted from her home and her bills piling up. Due to O’Connell cosigning the loan, these bills also fall on him as well. “The ups and downs of Type 1 is hard to keep up with” Destiny commented.

Now O’Connell is looking for help. 

“I drive for a living, and I was able to negotiate the loan down to $5,700,” O’Connell stated. “But there’s a catch, if I don’t come up with the money by December 1st, I have to pay the whole thing back. So, I had to think quick and what I’m doing now is a raffle.”

The $10 raffle is for two tickets to the Patriots/Buffalo Bills game on December 21st along with transportation to and from the game in a limo, as well as access to the tailgate party before the show.

“We also have hats, gloves, scarves, and a nice blanket to go along with it” O’Connell added.  

“Misty had the best sense of humor out of anybody I know, and her family is so kind.” O’Connell said. “Last Tuesday, Destiny and Jenna’s old field hockey coach Jim Harrison dedicated the game to Destiny, and a portion of the money was donated to helping her.

Destiny added, “Jim has come to my rescue and is helping me pay them back. But it is not his responsibility, it is mine. I am working on getting better, but the anxiety about everything has been truly crippling.” In the future, Destiny hopes to, “Come back to Rhode Island, and potentially go back to school once I feel better physically.”

Tickets can be purchased, and donations can be made by calling O’Connell at 401-265-6925 and also through his wife Anne, who works at the Cafeteria at RIC. Any checks should be made payable to Destiny Lourenco, O’Connell said. Tickets will also be available at the Pilgrim Thanksgiving game.

The drawing will be held on December 1st at St. Timothy’s Church during their mass. “For anyone willing to help them and myself, I thank you wholeheartedly,” commented Destiny. “God knows what I’d be doing without Jim right now.”

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