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Graduates hold fundraiser for ailing coach

St. Paul Catholic School graduates raise more than $7,000 so Antoine Damouny can get treatment in Israel.

By JON WILSON
Published August 31, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - Antoine "Tony" Damouny, a fixture for more than 20 years at St. Paul Catholic School, left Tuesday for Israel on what the people who love him hope will be a life-saving trip.

Organized by St. Paul graduates Robin Link and Taylor Traviesa, a Sunday fundraiser at the school raised more than $7,000 to help Damouny make the trip. He will spend several months undergoing treatment for a rare form of cancer he has been battling for about two years.

In another fundraising effort, contributors have raised more than $16,000 through the Racquet Club of St. Petersburg and the UPS Store at Northeast Shopping Center, said UPS store owner Dave Farnsworth.

Damouny, 59, has been a revered figure among students, adults and clergy in the St. Paul community.

A banner at the fundraiser carried a huge heart and the inscription: "You are the heart of our children."

Through the years, Damouny has coached most of the teams at the school, which is for youngsters through Grade 8. St. Paul has been known as a south county private school power. Basketball and soccer trophies fill its case.

"He's been an encourager and an inspiration to them," said Mary Carney, whose daughter played basketball at St. Paul.

Farnsworth said a young woman came into the UPS store and, upon handing over $40 in cash, said she was a former student of Damouny's.

"It's been very heartwarming," Farnsworth said.

At St. Paul's annual fall carnival, Damouny always operated the Greek booth and made the food for it.

"The kids would come back year after year to the Greek booth. He was the main draw there," said Barbara Sheridan, one of Damouny's teaching colleagues.

An avid tennis player, Damouny taught the Rev. Michael Cormier the game when Cormier came to St. Paul.

Accustomed to counseling, members of the clergy often appreciate having a confidante of their own. Damouny served that role for Cormier, the priest said.

St. Paul graduates helped run the fundraiser, helping supervise younger children in games and face-painting. Parents and teachers contributed money; parents helped cook the food.

Otherwise, "It was completely student-organized," said Sheridan, who started at St. Paul with Damouny in 1984.

Friends are optimistic that Damouny's treatment by a specialist at Jerusalem's Hadassab University Hospital will be successful.

"The doctor wouldn't be seeing him if there wasn't a cure," Cormier said.

Damouny's wife, Bette, and son Joseph also are making the trip, friends said.

The Racquet Club and the UPS Store continue to accept contributions. For information, call the Racquet Club at (727) 527-6553, or the UPS Store at (727) 822-5823. Contributions can be sent to the UPS Store at 204 37th Ave. N, Box 220, St. Petersburg, FL 33731-0220.

[Last modified August 31, 2005, 01:22:13]