Cocktails For A Cause Fundraiser To Help Open Health Center
After being hit with the unimaginable news that she had stage IV ovarian cancer in 2014, New Hyde Park resident and mother of four Annemarie O’Connell, underwent extensive surgery and chemotherapy treatment to combat the potentially deadly cancer. At first, the chemotherapy and treatment worked—putting O’Connell in full remission until her cancer unfortunately came back with vengeance just a year later.
“I decided to try nutritional therapy, which I did have success with, and announced at the Cocktails For A Cause benefit that was held for me in 2015 that my scan was clear,” said O’Connell. “The costs of the supplements and modalities I was partaking in was a fortune. It was because of the funds raised at the 2015 event that I was able to spend the last three years learning and trying different modalities in search of healing.”
Thanks to the generosity of the local community, O’Connell was able to fulfill a vow that she made that night in 2015 by promising to pay her success forward and to educate others on the modalities that helped her achieve optimal health and well-being. On Thursday, Oct. 25, from 6 to 10 p.m. the fundraiser and benefit, Cocktails For A Cause is back at The Inn at New Hyde Park to continue O’Connell’s passionate work.
“With the help of a dear friend, I created a nonprofit organization called Hold Our Hand,” said O’Connell. “The original intention was to subsidize the cost of alternative care and afford people options as my community did for me. As my journey continued, I learned there was so much more than treating a physical body.”
After reading books, listening to countless lectures and attending many retreats where she learned how to tap into the healing potential that everyone has within themselves, O’Connell developed a short and simple plan and wrote about it in her recently published book Inner Symphony, which is designed to be a tool that practitioners will use at the Hold Our Hand Rejuvenation and Education Center that O’Connell wants to open up.
“Having traveled near and far trying many modalities was daunting so I decided to share all I learned under one roof,” said O’Connell. “My main goal at the fundraiser on Oct. 25 is to raise enough funds to open the first Hold Our Hand center and also to raise enough funds so no one will be turned away.”
Saying that she does not have all the answers and is making no claims, O’Connell said that she is very eager to share all that she learned and to offer the modalities under one roof where the center can treat the physical, emotional and spiritual body. At the proposed center, people will only be asked for a suggested donation to ensure that no one is ever turned away due to financial situations.
“The plan, program and people are in place,” explained O’Connell. “We are now seeking the funding so we can open our first center, which I would like to keep close to home and am hoping to find a place in the Long Island area. My hope is that everyone learns about their own inner power.”
If she’s successful enough to launch her first rejuvenation and education center and receives a steady workflow, O’Connell will open other centers around the country. At the proposed center, infrared, halo, sound healing, and lymphatic message therapies, among others will be offered.
At this year’s Cocktails For A Cause, along with hors d’oeuvres, drinks and entertainment, some of the raffle prizes include: a custom designed suit by Gilberto Designs of Manhattan, an autographed New York Rangers hockey stick signed by the 2018 team, New York Rangers and Billy Joel tickets, an autographed guitar by Gene Simmons, an Apple Watch and much more.
To purchase tickets to the fundraiser, mail or drop off payments to Annemarie O’Connell at 597 S. 11th St., New Hyde Park, NY 11040. Make checks payable to Hold Our Hand. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.eventbrite.com/e/cocktails-for-a-cause-tickets-50079868234.
There will also be a grand prize 50/50. Tickets can be purchased now through the night of the fundraiser. The winner does not need to be present to win. If you are interested in buying 50/50 tickets or have any questions, email ann.oconnell@holdourhand.org or call 516-551-5813.
To learn more about O’Connell’s nonprofit organization Hold Our Hand, visit www.holdourhand.org.
