Dedham Native Receives Boost from Friends

A Friday night fundraiser for Dedham native and wheelchair-bound Erik DeAvila, 37, proved successful and heartfelt.

from a lift bucket onto the roadway while trimming a tree for a client on Lowder Street in Dedham on July 7 and was just released from a rehabilitation center on Wednesday, Aug. 24.

Soon after the fall, DeAvila’s friends began organizing a fundraiser to help him deal with the hospital bills during his long recovery. One of the fundraiser organizers, Kelly O’Brien, said it went "fantastic, we exceeded our goal."

Approximately 150 people attended throughout the night, said Kelly O'Brien. "We got a ton of money," she added.

They raised over $10,000, which will go toward running the Dedham-based DeAvila Tree and Landscape business as well putting food on the table for Erik’s family.

The $10,000-plus was in combination with the bank account that friends and companies have donated for the past month.

At the end of the night, she said, "Erik was definitely tired and sore but wanted to stay to the end to thank everybody."

Sean and Kelly O’Brien set up a Facebook page to help get the word out for the cause and set up a bank account. With the help of Mary Wilds-Deitzel and Keith MacDonald, they organized a fundraiser at the American Legion on Eastern Avenue in Dedham.

Sean O'Brien, a printer for the Boston Globe, was able to have the Globe donate sports memorabilia for a silent auction. They also had friends and local businesses donate money as well as prizes for the raffle.

Kelly O'Brien said they held seven silent auctions, 35 raffle prizes and 20 gifts they used as prizes for a spinning wheel, all of which were donated.

DeAvila Tree and Landscape T-shirts were made and donated by Print Masters in Norwood then sold for $10 each at the fundraiser. Food was donated for the fundraiser by Roche Bros. in Westwood, and Texas BBQ in Dedham.

DeAvila’s wife Heather has been running the business since the fall.

"It’s a lot of work [...] He’s the only climber," she said, so they could only keep the maintenance and landscaping parts of the business going. 

"It feels really good," to have him home, she added.

DeAvila was tired while shaking hands and speaking with old friends. He said his family brought him a laptop at the hospital and he kept in touch with friends and family through Facebook. 

He said the messages left, "Really kept me going… all the people behind me." Looking at the turnout early in the evening, he said, "I’m blown away."

DeAvila said one of the most surprising parts of the fundraiser was when Sean O’Brien told him one of the stars of the History Channel’s Axe Men - a DeAvila favorite - contacted O'Brien to donate money. 

Jay Browning, owner of JM Browning Logging in Oregon, suffered a logging accident many years ago and lost his left hand. DeAvila said they became friends through email over the past couple of years and heard about the accident.

He added that this week he will have an outpatient procedure to a bolt removed from his hip, which was broken in eight places. 

"I've got a ways to go," DeAvila said.