Approximately 225 first responders are killed in the line of duty each year, and each fatality leaves behind an average of 2.3 children.  This year’s 517 children will need help with their college tuition, and another 500+ children are put into the same situation every year.  Fortunately, First Responders Children’s Foundation has been striving to meet this heartbreaking need for the past 19 years.  Ever since September 11, 2001 when more than 800 children lost a parent, First Responders Children’s Foundation has provided millions of dollars in scholarships to hundreds of children who have lost a parent in the line of duty which helps cushion the financial hardship these children face.

In 2019, First Responders Children’s Foundation awarded 44 college scholarships to deserving children of first responders across the country and hosted more than 1,656 children and family members of first responders at the annual First Responders Children’s Foundation Thanksgiving Day Parade event in New York City providing families with a chance to gather and heal during an otherwise difficult holiday period.  Additional Foundation events took place in 21 cities impacting summer camps, fire safety education, community & police fitness programs, law enforcement youth “explorers” programs, and even the launch of the first police-operated community center in New York City.  The Foundation also became a charity partner of the nationally-televised PGA golf tournament, “A Military Salute at The Greenbrier,” which will continue each year to coincide with the anniversary of September 11, and the Foundation has even helped dedicate a commemorative train locomotive, CSX #911, “Spirit of our First Responders,” featuring the Foundation’s logo on the side which is hauling freight across America and simultaneously honoring our nation’s first responders.