BY GABE HERMAN | Just in time for the holiday giving spirit, 9/11 healthcare advocates presented a generous check to support firefighters who have been diagnosed with cancer.
The $100,000 donation came from an anonymous donor and will go to the FDNY Foundation’s Fired Up for a Cure program, which supports current and retired firefighters diagnosed with cancer, and their families. The donor is a retired FDNY firefighter who survived a 9/11-related cancer, and wished to stay anonymous.
The donation will fund transportation to medical appointments, doctors and nurses with the FDNY’s oncology unit, a contribution to the American Cancer Society, and other services for FDNY members.
The check was presented by 9/11 healthcare advocates Michael Barasch and Richie Alles in a Nov. 21 ceremony at the FDNY Fire Zone at Rockefeller Center.
Barasch’s firm, Barasch & McGarry, represents over 15,000 people in the 9/11 community, including thousands of firefighters who have been diagnosed with cancers or other illnesses. Alles is a retired FDNY Deputy Chief who worked at Ground Zero following 9/11.
“This donation reflects the extraordinary commitment of FDNY firefighters to the 9/11 community,” said Barasch, who also donated $10,000 to Fired Up for a Cure. “Thanks to the FDNY Foundation, firefighters and their families who are battling cancer have a trusted friend to support their survival.”
Alles said the anonymous donor’s gift illustrated FDNY firefighters’ ongoing commitment to each other. “Firefighters understand their responsibility to protect each other in times of crisis,” Alles said. “When we learn that our brothers or sisters have cancer, we mobilize to help them, just as we would in an emergency.”
More information about the Fired Up for a Cure program can be found at firedupforacurefdnynyc.org.
