O’Connell Climbs Mt. Aconcagua in Support of “Impact A Hero”

When Thomas J. O’Connell told his parents he was about to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in February of 2008, his mother shrugged as if to say: There he goes again. Not that she doubted him, but O’Connell wasn’t exactly an outdoorsy type; even he admits to never having slept in a tent. But she knew better than to dismiss him.

A lifelong soccer player, O’Connell caught the mountain climbing bug after a friend put the idea in his head -- she invited him to join her and her fellow climbers in scaling 19,340 feet to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Shortly after the invitation, his friend got pregnant and backed out. Others dropped out as well, but not O'Connell. “She wasn't going anymore, and neither were her friends, so I decided to go alone,” said O’Connell, 45. “I got in with a great tour company that took great care of us and a great group of people who were very patient with my amateur status.”

A hobby was born. On the 11-day Mt. Kilimanjaro climb, O’Connell met a group making the trek—not just for exercise—but for a cause. “There was a group combining their climb with a fundraiser for a charitable organization,” O’Connell recalls, “and I decided then that if I ever did this again, I’d do it with a purpose.”

O’Connell survived Mt. Kilimanjaro, and decided to take climbing seriously. He even hired a personal trainer, Felix Erazo, a former Marine, to whip his 160-pound body into shape. Once he'd chosen Mt. Aconcagua as his next mountain, he looked long and hard for a cause, and settled on Impact A Hero.

“I've been blessed to live in the greatest country in the world and I have the opportunity to do amazing things, like climb Mt. Aconcagua,” said O’Connell, of the climb scheduled for Nov. 28 through Dec. 17. “Many brave, selfless and wonderful men and women have sacrificed, literally, everything to allow the freedom and ability to do these things. I just want to show them my gratitude and say thank you for all you do in some meaningful way.”

A non-partisan 501(c) (3) organization, Impact A Hero was created to provide a simple mechanism for individuals and corporations to help provide emotional and financial support for severely wounded and disabled War on Terror veterans and their families.

In addition, as President and Managing Principal of Senior Wealth Solutions, LLC, a New Jersey-based firm that specializes in working with retirees in all aspects of financial and wealth planning, O’Connell takes the welfare and well-being of the elderly to heart. “I also work with veterans and sometimes it seems like they are forgotten and don't receive the help and benefits they've been promised. I hope my project at least reminds them that, yes, they are remembered and appreciated.”

*************

To make a tax-deductible donation to O’Connell’s charity of choice, Impact A Hero, go to www.impactahero.org. You can follow O’Connell online (beginning Nov. 28) by going to www.seniorwealthsolutions.com or impactahero.org.