Schaumburg, IL – The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) has formed a strategic alliance with Motorola Inc.
The announcement came as the NFFF continues to expand its Corporate Sponsorship Program through the establishment of charter membership status of companies which have made a commitment to support the ideals and mission of the Foundation.
Motorola will join forces with a group of corporations that have provided the Foundation with the resources it needs to assist the families of firefighters who have died in the line of duty.
“The generous funding provided by our corporate sponsors will be a tremendous help in extending additional support to the families of firefighters who have made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Hal Bruno, NFFF chairman. “It will enable us to continue honoring our dead by caring for the living with programs that help them rebuild their lives.”
Donations by corporate sponsors will help fund Foundation services, including:
* Fire Service Survivors Network that provides emotional assistance by matching survivors with similar experiences and circumstances, a quarterly newsletter, and specialized grief resources through its lending library.
* Scholarship assistance for spouses and children of fallen firefighters.
* Regional training sessions to help fire departments handle a line-of-duty death, including a chief-to-chief Network that provides professional and personal support from another chief who has experienced a similar loss.
* Annual National Tribute featuring special programs for survivors, co-workers, and public ceremonies. * Survivors are invited to attend Family Day sessions conducted by trained grief counselors.
* Expansion of the national park to honor firefighters, located in Emmitsburg, MD, that includes a brick “Walk of Honor,” memorial chapel and the official national monument.
“The programs and services offered by the NFFF are deeply meaningful to the firefighting community,” said John Piumbroeck, Motorola Communications and Electronics Inc. VP and director of distribution marketing.
Congress created the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation as a nationwide effort to honor the memory of firefighters who die in the line-of-duty. Since 1992, the non-profit Foundation has developed and expanded programs to fulfill that mandate by providing support and counseling to help the firefighters’ families.
The annual National Tribute has been held by the NFFF for the past 20 years to honor the families of career and volunteer firefighters who died in the line-of-duty the previous year. This year’s ceremony, scheduled for October 5 and 6, will honor 445 firefighters, including 347 killed in the Sept. 11 attacks at the World Trade Center.