Thanksgiving Day Parade Breakfast

November 24, 2022

More than 1,500 people, including children and families of first responders lost or injured in the line of duty from New York and New Jersey, attended our annual Thanksgiving Day Parade & Breakfast in New York City!

Happy Thanksgiving from First Responders Children’s Foundation!

Thank you!

The fullest of hearts after another successful FRCF Thanksgiving Day Breakfast! We are so grateful to spend time with our First Responder families. It’s our favorite time of year!

Tremendous thanks to our partners and donors who make this event truly unforgettable. Thank you CSX, Turken Heath & McCauley LLP,  Louis Vuittion, TAG, JP Morgan Chase, Carol and Eugene Cheng, Marilyn and James Simons, Jacqueline Rosinsky, Eve Gerber, and Colgate-Palmolive as well as Fred Leonardo, Thomas and Ann Marie Flood, Robert Cagnazzi, and NewMark Group. Your support of first responders and their loved ones is remarkable. 

Special thanks to the NYPD, FDNY & PAPD and Brownsville Excellence Marching Band! We were honored to have special guests, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams,  FDNY Chaplain Ann Kansfield, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, FDNY Assistant Chief, Bureau of Fire Operations, Kevin Brennan, DEA Special Agent of the New York Division, Frank Tarantino, Port Authority of NY & NJ Superintendent of Police Edward Cetnar, CSX Executive Vice President of Operations Jamie Boychuk, FRCF Board Member and Principal Partner at Turken, Heath & McCauley LLP, Matt McCauley, FRCF Board Member Jacqueline Rosinsky and #EMT and University of Southern Maine scholarship recipient Jadyn Cunningham!

Thank you to Mateo Lizcano, FDNY paramedic Carlos Lizcano’s son and Dear Evan Hansen Broadway cast member, for starting off this event with the National Anthem. We wrapped up this wonderful day with God Bless America performed by Janet Hines, daughter of NYPD officer Johnny Hines. 

Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at First Responders Children’s Foundation. We are so grateful for your support of our mission.

Founded in 2001 during the immediate aftermath of 9/11, The First Responders Children’s Foundation (FRCF) founder, Al Kahn, created a healing event that included a Thanksgiving Day Breakfast and a viewing of the iconic Thanksgiving Day Parade for the 800 surviving children and their families whose first responder parents were lost or injured on 9/11. Over the last 20 years, this annual event has impacted over 20,000 first responder children and families, giving them an opportunity to enjoy the holiday spirit and escape the daily pressures that often come with being a part of a first responder family.

The Thanksgiving Day Parade Breakfast at Bryant Park Grill on November 24, 2022 welcomes first responders families from across the spectrum of first responder agencies to support each other during the holiday season. Over 1,500 guests are invited to view the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from an exclusive front-row view of the parade as it passes along Sixth Avenue between 40th and 42nd Streets following a breakfast and presentations which include scholarship award winners, first responder honors, and sponsorship recognition.

FRCF’s signature Thanksgiving Day Breakfast event is a wonderful and personal way to create new traditions and to show gratitude to our uniformed heroes and their families on this national holiday of thanks. Please consider joining us as we thank first responders for their service and let them know we are committed to meeting the needs of their families.

For more information about how to become a sponsor this event, please contact Joanna Black at 646-912-2681

Proceeds from the event will support FRCF programs including college scholarships, direct financial assistance, bereavement assistance, and toys during the holidays. Proceeds will also support mental health services for children of first responder families through the newly introduced First Responders Children’s Foundation Resiliency Program.

This event would not have been possible without our generous sponsors.