March 28, 2022 5 Comments
March 11, 2022
November 29, 2021
Alex Bourque went to the orthopedist for knee pain. Maybe a strained ligament, he thought. The actual diagnosis strained his entire world. Cancer? It seemed impossible. He was 25 years old. He fought fires for a living and came home to his young family — a wife and a 3-year-old son and another baby boy on the way.
August 27, 2021
May 13, 2021
April 20, 2021
February 02, 2021
November 30, 2020
Every day, first responders, military members, veterans and their families deal with realities that others only see on television. The jobs that our heroes are asked to perform can be traumatic, and those experiences don’t go away when the shift ends.
So on Giving Tuesday, the Fire Department Coffee Foundation is proud to donate $1,500 to the SUPHEROES Foundation to help ensure that our heroes always have access to top-quality mental health care so that they can confront any issues they may face.
November 30, 2020
Emergency medical services teams and paramedics have to be ready for anything. We rely on them to be prepared to save a life at a moment’s notice.
We need them at their best — so it’s absolutely essential that we are there for them when hard times come. That’s why, on Giving Tuesday, the Fire Department Coffee Foundation is honored to contribute $1,500 to the EMS FDNY Help Fund.
October 21, 2020
As firefighters, our job is to look out for everyone else, to make sure they are safe and protected and to be there when emergencies arise.
That’s why we appreciate it even more when there are people and organizations looking after us. So the Fire Dept. Coffee Foundation is honored to contribute $1,000 to the New Jersey Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association.
The NJFMBA is a passionate advocate for firefighters, EMTs and dispatchers, and a major part of their mission is to help protect the health and safety of first responders.
Our contribution will specifically support the Mark Virag Memorial Cancer Fund, created to honor the NJFMBA’s former sergeant at arms, who lost his battle with cancer in 2015. The fund will be used to provide needed financial support to those diagnosed with cancer to help them and their families through their own fights against cancer.
Beyond working for firefighters at local, state and federal levels, the NJFMBA also offers a vast range of resources to help individuals and families dealing with the physical and emotional effects that such a demanding career can create. The NJFMBA offers Critical Incident Stress Management to help prevent or mitigate the post-traumatic stress reactions that can be caused by on-the-job experiences.
The organization also offers a peer assistance program that helps first responders find the necessary help and intervention to deal with issues like substance abuse, eating disorders, smoking, gambling and other everyday stress issues.
And the NJFMBA organizes charitable events, including its annual Fallen Heroes 5K Memorial Run, to support important causes that benefit first responders in need, as well as their families. The organization also raises funds for individuals in need and supports scholarship programs that honor fallen firefighters and help provide for the education of first responders’ family members.
Organizations like the NJFMBA represent the true heart and sense of community that draws so many of us into the fire service, and we are honored to help support them in their many important efforts.
October 21, 2020
Whether you’re rescuing accident victims, fighting fires or fighting crime, first responders are always putting themselves at physical risk. That’s easy to see.
What isn’t always as visible are the mental and emotional stresses that our first responders face each day as they strive to serve others.
That’s why the Fire Dept. Coffee Foundation is proud to contribute $1,000 to the North Carolina First Responder Peer Support Team to help them in their mission to provide the emotional wellness resources that are so desperately needed by so many.
The organization’s goal is to provide a safe, confidential and nonjudgmental environment where first responders can feel comfortable asking for help — and receiving it. Whether it’s directly from peer to peer or from the organization’s clinical or faith teams, those in need of help can find it through the various services and resources available.
Emotional stresses can show themselves in many forms — anxiety, depression, insomnia, alcohol or substance abuse, suicidal thoughts and many others. They are an unfortunate reality for so many first responders who bear the emotional toll that often comes with answering the call to serve their community.
For anyone experiencing one or more of those challenges, a team of your peers is ready to listen and ready to help in any way possible.
At the Fire Dept. Coffee Foundation, we know that there is strength in asking for help, and we are honored to support the North Carolina First Responder Peer Support Team and all the heroes they serve.
September 02, 2020 1 Comment
If you’re reading this, chances are that someone you know has faced a cancer diagnosis and the difficult battle that follows.
If you’re a firefighter, the chances are even greater because firefighters face a higher rate of cancer diagnosis than the average person.
It’s why our foundation is proud to have contributed $5,000 to support the important work of the Firefighter Cancer Support Network. This incredible organization holds a special place in our hearts because of the help they offered to one of our own.
Our chief roaster and retired fire captain, David McWilliams, served in the fire service for 35 years. In 2018, he was diagnosed with advanced malignant melanoma. The Firefighter Cancer Support Network provided Dave with a mentor who could share their own experiences fighting cancer and be a shoulder for Dave to lean on.
The network also supported Dave with a “toolkit” care package of useful information and supplies to guide him through his journey of fighting cancer, a battle that we’re happy to say Dave is winning.
But it’s a battle that he will continue to fight, alongside countless other firefighters across the country and around the world. Research from the CDC and the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety shows that firefighters face a 9% higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer than the average person — and a 14% higher risk of dying from cancer.
Cancer caused 61 percent of the career firefighter line-of-duty deaths from January 1, 2002, to March 31, 2017, according to data from the International Association of Fire Fighters.
That’s why the Firefighter Cancer Support Network is so important. It’s now in its 15th year of fulfilling its mission to help fire/EMS members and their families cope with cancer and to provide occupational-cancer awareness and prevention training nationwide.
We are honored to stand beside them in this fight.
SUPPORT OUR MISSION AND FOLLOW OUR JOURNEY
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