Heard the Numbers "9/11" a Bit To Much?

Son of FDNY's John Mc Namara at fathers funeral

It is time to step up. There are too many spectators continuing to watch stories of 9/11 continue to unfold. We need more folks to take action--yes, we are asking for your help! --DON'T STOP READING  NOW, PLENTY OF GOOD STUFF BELOW--It has been over 10 years since the tragic events of 9/11 but it is never time to move on from the memory of our fallen heroes and those who are still battling life threatening illnesses from their heroic acts at Ground Zero. 343 FDNY Firefighters were lost on 9/11 and over 800 more Responders have died since then from cancers and respiratory illnesses. FDNY's John Mc Namara was one of them.

You may think that you have heard the numbers "9/11" far too much but just think about the families of the fallen and the 1^st Responders, still suffering serious health consequences from their selfless actions working “the pile”—they will NEVER forget!

Moving on from the acts of terrorism and promoting healing is the right thing to do. However, the healing process continues and the need for support is constant. Too many folks still on the sidelines watching with the mentality that they are not directly involved so what is there to do? Wake up call--there is plenty to do and a strong need to move folks off the sidelines and into the battle. If you live in the U.S., you need to be involved. Period.

The 9/11 Patch Project was founded because of four words that were spoken by an FDNY Firefighter at Ground Zero, “Please Don’t Forget Us.” Those words have been acted upon by over 8000 organizations around the world that made a promise with us to NEVER FORGET. They stepped up and made that promise with us by adding one of the 9/11 Patches to their uniforms or one of the 9/11 Decals to their apparatus and vehicles. In participating in the project, they also helped us raise funds for 9/11 related organizations that continue to promote that healing and bridge the tremendous gap of support that the government provides for them.

Without the Feal Good Foundation (FGF) and the relentless activism of founder John Feal, the Zadroga Bill would not have passed through Congress and the Senate. And 50 different types of cancers would not have been added to the bill. By the way, John Feal stepped up big time to support an event you will read about below--he bought the largest sponsorship! Is everyone ok with this? The event is supposed to raise funds for his foundation. That should bring someone off the sidelines!

Without the Terry Farrell Fund (named after fallen FDNY firefighter Terry Farrell) Brian Farrell, his brother and President of the fund, would not be able to support fire organizations in the U.S. who are at risk due to failing or nonexistent apparatus and protective equipment. There would be no scholarships to assist in much needed training and there would be sick and injured firefighters out there left without much needed financial aid. By the way again, Brian stepped up and was the very first to buy a bunch of tickets for the same event that will also benefit his fund. Is that ok with everyone?

Finally, without the NYC Bravest Scholarship Fund, many children of fallen FDNY firefighters would not have the opportunity to afford a formal education. And a third by the way, the FDNY Uniformed Fire Officers (Administers the Scholarship Fund) stepped up and through all their support to the 9/11 Patch Project. If we're good enough for the FDNY, we should have your organizations support too!

Today, selling patches and decals does not raise much money for these critically important funds—especially when they are bought one or two a time by those looking for souvenirs. Arranging fund raising events like our Fully Involved Comedy Tour, does. Last year with the help of FireCareers.com, our 10 Yr 9/11 Manhattan to Manhattan Tour raised nearly $20,000 that was equally split between the organizations mentioned above. These fund raising events do work!

So move on from the tragedy of 9/11 but join us in our eternal pledge to NEVER FORGET the heroes of 9/11 and those sick and injured that continue to need our support. It may be American to be resilient but it is not very American to forget those who are still sick and may die soon. It is also not very American to forget the hundreds of 1^st Responders that gave their lives on 9/11 so that thousands can still be alive today.Of course we are not talking about everyone--many have stepped up but many others are perfectly happy to let them get involved while they look on.

The economy is tough for everyone. Understanding that everyone has a threshold on what they are able to contribute, the 9/11 Patch Project has provided many levels of giving that can fit anyone’s budget—anyone. It may mean replacing something you do with your family for a night but the feeling of contribution should result in a much better feeling for you and your family. Here are the different levels of support we offer on our website—please make a commitment today and choose to get involved. Help us make a difference:

9/11 WALL: Add your name for as little as $9.11 or 3X that to add your web link with your name

Fully Involved Comedy Tour with Ralphie May & Mike Lombardi: Buy a ticket or two. If you can’t make it, gift it to a friend that can.

9/11 Patches & Decals: Outfit your entire organization with them—make it your organizations promise to never forget.

Life Time Sponsor: It’s the cheapest sponsorship on the block and it gives your company/organization tremendous bang for your buck. Most important--you make a very visible commitment of support everywhere we go!

On behalf of the Feal Good Foundation, the Terry Farrell Fund, the NYC Bravest Scholarship Fund and the 9/11 Patch Project Fund, we thank you in advance for stepping up and helping in any way that you can.

9/11 Patch Project Seeking Partnerships

The idea of partnering came to us when The Decal World contacted us and asked if they could partner with us on a product. They had created a beautiful 9/11 Rhinestone Shirt and wanted to find a charitable 9/11 Organization to donate $10 per shirt to. So we talked and with a week, we had the shirt on our site and began co-promoting it with them.

How does it work? Actually, it is quite simple. We create a product together (using one of our 9/11 Patch designs or one of yours) and you sell it as you do other items on your site. We create a image and profile of the item on our site and it has a button that will click right through to where you offer it on your site. We agree to a portion of each sale that goes back to the 9/11 Patch Project Fund and we are off and running.

You can see how this looks with the 9/11 Rhinestone Shirt on our site now:  9/11 Patch Project Store Once we put this up on our site (took about 10 minutes), we advertised the fund raising deal on Facebook and sold 7 shirts the 1st day! This helps you with sales, gives you the opportunity to add a "give back" item in your store, and helps us raise funds for our project and our fund raising partners; NYC Bravest Scholarship Fund, Terry Farrell Fund & Feal Good Foundation.

We also partnered nearly a year ago, with Capital One, to create the only approved non profit 9/11 Cards. We currently have over 30 card holders. This program kicks back $50 per new cardholder and 1-2% of their purchases on a quarterly basis.

So let us know if you have an idea on an item we can partner with you on. The process does not take long and we could use the help with our fund raising activities. If you are interested in this concept, please EMAIL me with your ideas and we'll see it we can make it work!

John Feal Steps up for Fully Involved Comedy Tour

John Feal- Founder, Feal Good Foundation

"Then John did something that blew me away. He asked what the largest sponsorship was and then committed to be the first to buy one. I quickly responded by saying, John, this is a fund raiser for the Feal Good Foundation...how can we take your sponsorship money?"

From injured demolition expert at Ground Zero, to activist and advocate for the 40,000 injured or sick that worked the pile at GZ. "No 1st Responders Left Behind," is the tag line of the Feal Good Foundation, created by John Feal in 2005. It's not just a catchy tag line but rather, it completely describes the lengths that the FGF went to in order to insure the Zadroga Bill passed though Congress and the Senate. And most recently, to insure 50 different cancers were covered under the bill.

As the founder of one of our nation's 9/11 Projects, I met John over two years ago--during the heat of the battle. With the purpose of the 9/11 Patch Project to remember the hero's of 9/11 and raise funds for 9/11 related charities, it was a no  brainer to add the FGF to our short donor list. Although we have raised only a drop in the bucket for his foundation, we recently teamed up with Firehouse Expo to bring a night of comedy and rock to their three national Expo's (Baltimore, New Orleans and San Diego) with our main purpose to raise funds for the Feal Good Foundation and two other 9/11 charities.

I spoke to John a couple of days ago to catch up. We talked about the show and some of the difficulties in getting companies to come forward. Many were opting out due everything from the economy to concerns over the image of their company. Then John did something that blew me away. He asked what the largest sponsorship was and then committed to be the first to buy one. I quickly responded by saying, "John, this is a fund raiser for the Feal Good Foundation...how can we take your sponsorship money?"

John is very straight forward and always means what he says. He has already proven by his actions these past 7 years that if he is going to do something...no one can stop him! So, reluctantly I agreed but with the goals to multiply his money and give it right back during the show in Baltimore. I truly want to do that for him and the great work he has done all these years.

Question is, if John will step up and make such a large commitment to an event that is for his Feal Good Foundation, who else out there will step up and follow his lead? Ticketed events with headliner comedians like Ralphie May and hosts like Rescue Me's Mike Lombardi, should have no problem selling out. What company would not want to put their name with such a great event that will potentially raise thousands for great organizations like John's, the NYC Bravest Scholarship Fund and the Terry Farrell Fund?

John is a remarkable man but he is not wealthy. For him, it is about principal and spending money where he feels it is needed. He stepped up when others wouldn't because he felt it was the right thing to do and that is his character. Who else out there will step up and help make sure this fund raising event is as much a success as it needs to be?

My challenge to all exhibitors at the Firehouse Expo or any companies in Baltimore, is to step up and be counted. Most of you will get tickets for this show as it is also the official entertainment for the event--you will most likely be going anyway. Maybe it is unrealistic for some of you to come up with the bucks that John did, but you can afford to be one of our $911 Lifetime Sponsors. Nothing would make me happier than to turn around and multiply John's gift during our event in Baltimore. And nothing would make John, myself and the others that are working to make this event a huge success, more proud, than to look out and see the logos of companies that stepped up, printed on huge banners hanging near the stage.

 Exhibitors and companies of Baltimore...it's your move!