Keep Patti driving

W.H. resident with MS fundraises for a new van to facilitate volunteering efforts

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Patricia Locurcio, secretary to the West Hempstead Chamber of Commerce for more than eight years and a very active West Hempstead volunteer, has a very simple request. “I need a van,” said Locurcio, who has multiple sclerosis and a 2006 Dodge Caravan that she says is falling apart. “And I don’t have the money to afford another one.”

Locurcio is calling upon her friends, family and anyone who wants to help her cause to donate towards a new vehicle. She wants to keep volunteering in West Hempstead and can’t walk to where she needs to go. A van makes it possible for her to tend to her many volunteering activities, but it comes at a steep price. “A modified van is about $60K,” said Locurcio. “I can get myself dressed, I can shower, I can get myself ready, but if I don’t have that van, I wouldn’t be able to keep doing what I do.”

In an effort to make her dream a reality, Locurcio has started a gofundme page, and is in the beginning stages of organizing a fundraiser at the Coral House on Sept. 14 for her cause. “Right now I’m thinking about doing a casino night, so that should be fun,” Locurcio said. “I was playing with sponsorships. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.”

Among the organizations Locurcio volunteers for, outside of the West Hempstead Chamber of Commerce, include the Lions Club, where she will soon be inducted as an assistant secretary, and the West Hempstead Civic Association, where she helps organize the community’s holiday parties, parades and more.

Due to her many contributions to the West Hempstead community in the past, the Malverne/West Hempstead Herald named Locurcio Person of the Year in 2013.

To help pay for some cost of living expenses, Locurcio works for an attorney for several hours a week, but she gets fatigued very easily due to the multiple sclerosis.

People interested in donating to Locurcio’s gofundme page can find it at gofundme.com/KeepPattiDriving or https://nf4n.networkforgood.com