Fund-raiser nets almost $3,000 for Devon Nicole’s House

More than $2,900 was raised at a local business Saturday to help a local family achieve its dream to help others.

Last spring Thomas and Deanna Missert started the Devon Nicole’s House, a charity to aid families of sick children, in the name of their five-day old daughter they lost in 1999 due to birth complications. On Saturday the owners of Luisa’s Pizza in Londonderry, Sarah and Arnie Zampi, hosted the charity’s first fund-raiser. They decided to donate half the money they made during their busiest hours, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., for that day to Devon Nicole’s House.

Deanna said there was hardly ever an empty seat in the restaurant during the fund-raiser, which she said was a huge success.

"Things went really awesome," Missert said. "It was a very good three hours."

Devon Nicole’s House is a charity dedicated to establishing a home-away-from-home for families with children either awaiting organ donations or in intensive care at any Boston area hospital.

Before the event Sarah said when they heard of the Missert’s story through their church Arnie had recently suffered a heart attack, and the couple felt, because of that experience, that this was the perfect charity to donate their efforts.

"It really kind of hit home," Sarah said. "We felt a need to be involved somehow."

Deanna said she and her husband, who have healthy triplets that were born before Devon Nicole, are very thankful for what the Zampis, and the hundreds of people who turned out, did to help.

"It was so wonderful for Luisa’s to do that for us," Missert said.