The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Dave O’Brian walking for sick children
Dave O’Brian: VVS alum raising money for Golisano Children’s Hospital in memory of St. Pat’s student
SHERRILL » Dave O’Brian was touched when he noticed someone was missing from his daughter’s recent preschool graduation at St. Patrick’s School in Oneida. Now, that absence has inspired him to take a long walk to raise funds both to help cure cancer and to benefit the school, all while honoring the missing student.
O’Brian said that girl was one of four-year-old Isabelle’s classmates, who had lost her battle with cancer after fighting the disease since she was 2. He decided to pay tribute to the youngster’s fight himself, planning a walk from St. Patrick’s to a place the kids know all too well. O’Brian will be heading out to Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital in Syracuse — rain or shine — at 8 a.m. the morning of Saturday, Aug. 5.
“I got the idea the day after their graduation,” he recalled. “When I looked around and didn’t see her there, I really wanted to do something that would honor her and continue her fight.”
He has set up an online donation site where well-wishers can pledge funds. They can leave their names, a note, or even remain anonymous if they desire, O’Brian noted. Even if someone can’t afford to help out with a donation, he or she can support his cause by helping spread the word about the fundraiser. The best place to find and share information is on his Facebook page, he said.
O’Brian has set a goal of raising $5,000, which will then be split 50/50 by the school and the hospital. He hasn’t placed stipulations on how it should be used, but the school has talked about a memorial bench and maybe even a scholarship for another youngster to attend, O’Brian said.
He has started training for his main event, initially walking a loop from Sherrill through Oneida to Vernon, and back home again, last week. He estimated the 35-mile trip to Syracuse will take him some 10-12 hours, and he plans to make three stops along the way — in Canastota, Chittenango, and Fayetteville. The mileage might seem daunting to some, but O’Brian puts it into perspective of the inspiration of the strength of his daughter’s little friend.
“The 35 miles is no joke, but if she can fight cancer for two years, I can walk for 10 hours,” O’Brian said.
A class of 2004 graduate of the Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Central School in Verona, O‘Brian moved away to college in Arizona after that, but
“When I looked around and didn’t see her there, I really wanted to do something thatwould honor her and continue her fight.”
— Dave O’Brian
by 2008 he was back in Sherrill. Today, he runs Delivery Dad, where he takes orders for food deliveries from a variety of area restaurants, giving hungry customers options other than just pizza to have brought out to their homes.
Isabelle took the death of her friend last November hard at first, O’Brian said, but as she started to better understand what was going on she became more accepting. Death is hard to face even as an adult, and as a dad himself the death of a child is especially tragic.
“It’s tough to explain life and death to a fouryear- old,” he said. “It’s a hard thing to deal with at any age, and it is even more sad when it is someone that young, especially when she was the same age as my daughter. That really made it hit home with me.”
O’Brian will be posted live updates through social media during the trip and invites anyone else who would like to join him to come along. Walkers need not join the entire journey, he stressed, and can walk as far as they would like to show their own solidarity to the cause. This past week he already had at least six partners planning to join him on his sojourn to Syracuse.
“I’m looking forward to seeing all of the involvement from supporters who come out to join me,” O’Brian said. “Everybody will be coming together for a good cause.”
For more information, find Dave O’Brian on Facebook. To make a donation, visit: www.youcaring.com/ love thy neighborcny