Community Comes Together After Loss Of Deer Park HS Grad

DEER PARK, NY - The Deer Park community is coming together to raise money after a local 27-year-old native died earlier this week.

Joey Pannullo, a Deer Park High School Class of 2010 graduate, passed away suddenly on Sunday while with his girlfriend at Disney Springs, according to a Facebook post by his mother.

"Something happened though early this morning, and he stopped breathing, and efforts to revive him were not successful," she wrote on Sunday. "He lived life to the fullest. Never afraid to work hard for everything he wanted in life. He had a heart of gold, giving of nature and himself."

Following his tragic death, several residents started a fundraiser on GoFundMe in Pannullo's honor.

"Joe always had a smile on his face. He always put others before himself. He was always laughing and making jokes. He had a heart of gold and everyone who knew him loved him," a message on the page reads. "All proceeds will be given to his family. He will never be forgotten."

The goal of the page is to raise $10,000 to help Pannullo's family.

As of Tuesday, the page has raised a total of $840.

Click here to contribute to the GoFundMe.

In addition, a fellow graduate started a fundraiser on Facebook to raise $7,000.

"I would like to raise money on behalf of the Class of 2010 during this tragic time for Joey’s family," the organizer, Deanna Racanelli, wrote on the page. "He was a bright light in our graduating class that will be truly missed."

A portion of the donations will go toward a floral arrangement for the funeral and the rest will go to Joey's heartbroken family.

On Tuesday, the fundraiser nearly reached its goal with a total of $6,887 in donations.

Click here to contribute to the Facebook fundraiser.

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