We’re Sending Kids to Open Heart Camp!

Hello Everyone,

Great news from the David Louis Foundation!  David’s Foundation will be sponsoring 8 children to attend the Open Hearts Camp in Great Barrington, MA for two weeks this summer!!  We are looking to sponsor five children from Rhode Island and three children from Nearby Massachusetts.  The Open Hearts Camp is a non-profit summer retreat which hosts children who have undergone the rigors of open heart surgery or have received a heart transplant.  Please check out their website at OpenHeartsCamp.org and you will see what a wonderful place this is.  All of this is made possible through your generosity, support and caring.  I have said this many times and I will continue to do so… YOU are the FOUNDATION… You make it all happen.  Thank you all so very much and look for more great news coming!

Donations/Grants In 2016

The David Louis Cunha Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) organization, was established on January 13, 2015, upon the passing of David Cunha.  The Foundation’s mission is to provide financial support to families with children living with life threatening medical conditions.  The Foundation also awards scholarships to Smithfield High School graduating Seniors who excel in community service and embody a generous heart, as did David.

  • March 2016 – Donation to A Wish Come True / Warwick, RI. Bella, a four year old girl with leukemia and her family granted a wish to go to Disney World ($4,000.00).
  • May 2016 – Donation to Boston Children’s Pace Maker Camp. Five children from Rhode Island with pace makers granted a 3 day / 2 night stay at the camp ($2,240.00).
  • May 2016 – Scholarships to Smithfield High School. Two $1,000.00 scholarships awarded to two students who have excelled in community service ($2,000.00).

We are also pleased to announce that this past Christmas Season, the David Louis Cunha Foundation donated over $ 2,000.00 to the following local agencies to specifically help children…children who do not experience the joys of Christmas that most do…children with no homes or away from their homes for good reason…children who were in great need of some Christmas kindness.

  • Adoption Rhode Island
  • Friends Way
  • Tanner Hill House
  • Aids Care Ocean State
  • Crossroads Rhode Island Domestic Violence Program
  • David’s Foundation also supported the Miracles for Maddox fundraiser held on December 10th.

3rd Annual Fundraiser

3rd Annual David Louis Cunha Foundation Fundraiser

seacoast
bankri
FGX_Sponsor
David

The Who, What, Where, When, Why and WOW!

Saturday, July 22nd - Smithfield Elks Lodge - 326 Farnum Pike, Smithfield, RI

Barbecue Dinner with Music by
Lainey Dionne 5:00 – 7:00
Steve Smith & the Nakeds 8:00 - 12:00
Tickets $ 30.00 Per Person
Contact: Cheryl & Peter Cunha (401) 419-2100

Check out some of our Auction Items! Great Raffles, too!

Red Sox vs.Yankees (2) Tickets Bus Trip to NY September 2nd
Bonnet Shores Beach House (1) Week 6 Bed/ 4 Bath June 2018
Florida Timeshare (1) Week MANY Locations / Times
Disney (4) One Day Hopper Passes & Luggage
Aqua Blue Hotel (2) Night Stay & Coast Guard House & Arturo Joe GCs
Kirkbrae Country Club Golf Threesome (w/member)
Yankee Tickets (4) 2017 Game Plus GCs
Southwest Airlines (8) One Way Trip Vouchers (Each $ 200 Value)
Newport Playhouse (2) Tickets Cabaret & Dinner
P-Bruins (4) Flex Tickets Plus $ 100.00 GC to Budweiser Bar & Grill
Renaissance Hotel Providence One Night Stay
Cuban Rum & Cuban Cigars Plus Humidor Plus Picture of Fidel Castro
Taste of Smithfield Gift Cards
Diamond Hill Vineyard GC up to (10) People Wine Tasting
Cranston Country Club Golf Foursome
Crystal Lake Golf Foursome
Swarovski Jewelry Set

SENATERESOLUTION – EXPRESSING OUR DEEPEST SYMPATHY ON THE UNTIMELY PASSING OF DAVID LOUIS CUNHA

S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2015

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S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N
EXPRESSING OUR DEEPEST SYMPATHY ON THE UNTIMELY PASSING OF DAVID LOUIS CUNHA

Introduced By: Senators Archambault, Paiva Weed, Ruggerio, Lombardo, and Lombardi
Date Introduced: January 20, 2015
Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

1 WHEREAS, As parents, we all hope and believe that the life of a young person holds the promise of bright tomorrows and soon to be climbed summits, and so it is with utmost sadness that this Senate learned of the untimely passing of David Louis Cunha, the beloved son of Peter and Cheryl Cunha; and

WHEREAS, David was blessed with the love of his large extended family. He was the dearly loved maternal grandson of the late Louis and Rosalie Mele, and the cherished paternal grandson of William A. Cunha Sr., and his companion, Beverly Chappron, and the late Barbara Cunha. He also leaves several aunts, uncles, cousins, and many, many friends; and

WHEREAS, Upon graduation from Smithfield High School, where he had been a member of the National Honor Society, David enrolled at Rhode Island College where he was a junior majoring in Mass Media Communications; and

WHEREAS, An active, caring, and articulate young man, David had volunteered for many charitable causes including the Matty Fund, A Wish Come True, the Special Olympics, Best Buddies, and the Providence Back to School Celebration. In addition, he had served as a page for the Rhode Island State Senate for the past six years for Senator Stephen Archaumbault and previously for former Senator Tassoni, and had been an intern in the Office of the General Treasurer; and

WHEREAS, David possessed a vibrant and courageous spirit. He loved sports, life, and 19 his family and his friends, particularly his best buds, Nick Patrie and Karina Raposa. He had been the captain of the Save-the-Bay Beach Cleanup and was a participant in the Smithfield Police Explorer Academy. He had also been an alter server at St. Michael's Church as well as an Assistant CCD teacher, and member of the church CYO Basketball Team; and

WHEREAS, The most fitting tribute to David Cunha would be a celebration of his life, a life in which each and every day was lived fully and joyfully embraced. He was fortunate to have always enjoyed the total love and support of his family, and in return he enriched the lives of all around him. He will be dearly missed and always remembered; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations hereby expresses our heartfelt condolences to the entire Cunha Family on the passing of David Louis Cunha; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Peter and Cheryl Cunha.

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Rhode Island College mourns student who died Monday

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Rhode Island College is mourning the loss of one of its students, junior David Louis Cunha of Smithfield, who died Monday.

Cunha, 21, was majoring in Mass Media Communications, was active with community service and had worked as a Rhode Island Senate page and on political campaigns, according to an email that Rhode Island College President Nancy Carriuolo shared with the college community.

Senate Majority Whip Maryellen Goodwin led a moment of silence in the state Senate on Tuesday on Cunha’s behalf.

“I think most of us have heard by now that one of our young pages, David Cunha, was taken suddenly,” Goodwin said. ” He was an asset here to the chamber, and Madame president, I would like all of us to remember not only David but his family for a moment.

Sen. President Teresa Paiva-Weed asked “all of our pages to join us on the floor here today. And if you have a moment here today before you leave, to thank them because they are very much a part of our Senate family, as was David.”

A 2012 graduate of Smithfield High School, Cunha was also a member of the National Honor Society, according to his online obituary. He worked for the past six years for Rhode Island Senator Stephen R. Archambault and former Senator John Tassoni. He also worked as an intern for former General Treasurer Frank Caprio, according to his obituary, which does not list a cause of death.

The college flag will be lowered this week in Cunha’s memory, Carriuolo said. Details about his funeral arrangements are in the obituary.