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First Responders Children’s Foundation aided 8.5K+ first responders during pandemic

The foundation provided $8.2 million in grants and nearly 13,000 hotel rooms for first responders

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The First Responders Children’s Foundation announced it has provided financial aid to more than 8,500 first responders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Photo/First Responders Children’s Foundation

By Laura French

NEW YORK — The First Responders Children’s Foundation has released a summary of its last six months of work during the pandemic, announcing that it has aided more than 8,500 first responders faced with financial hardship.

The organization said in a press release that it provided a total of $8.2 million in grants to 8,594 first responders since the foundation’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund was established in March.

The foundation has also supplied nearly 13,000 hotel rooms and meal vouchers for first responders to self-quarantine and protect their families, distributed 650,000 surgical-grade masks to those on the front lines, funded 50 programs at first responder agencies and supported the funerals of 97 first responders who died due to COVID-19.

“As scientists and health officials anticipate a second wave, the Foundation anticipates a spike in grant applications, funerals, and PPE requests in the coming weeks and months – the need continues,” the foundation stated in the release.

The foundation has received support for its COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund through fundraisers such as the “iHeart Living Room Concert for America” benefit featuring celebrity music artists, and through donations from corporations and individuals, including a $1 million donation from Cisco.

The organization also recently launched a series of PSAs featuring Ryan Seacrest, who also donated $1 million for hotel rooms and PPE.