Grantmakers in the News

May 1, 2007

Philanthropy-Led Campaign Raises Funds for Medical Treatment of 9/11 Workers and Residents

This past February, nine local philanthropies joined the New York Times Neediest Cases Fund to raise money for the 9/11 Neediest Medical campaign. Just a few months later, the campaign has raised close to $4.7 million.

The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund first launched the 9/11 Neediest Medical campaign with a $1 million grant to a consortium of hospitals headed by the Mount Sinai Medical Center. In a similar effort, the New York Community Trust contributed $1 million for screening and treatment to Bellevue and Beyond Ground Zero, a coalition of community organizations that works to aid people affected by the 9/11 disaster.

These major grants were followed by $1 million contributions from the Ford Foundation and the Open Society Institute to support the Sept. 11 work at both hospitals. The two hospitals also benefitted from gifts from the Altman Foundation, the United Way of New York City, and Trinity Church Wall Street, which also accepted contributions from the public at St. Paul's Chapel near Ground Zero. The campaign received additional support from individual donors and other foundations.

The funds will provide treatment for uninsured workers and residents who have developed life-threatening diseases since the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. Funds will also be used to treat uninsured responders who performed rescue, recovery, and cleanup work. The Mount Sinai consortium has screened thousands of World Trade Center workers since 2002, and its findings indicate that close to 60 percent suffer from respiratory ailments. Others have developed leukemia, other cancers, and auto-immune diseases which, though not conclusively linked to exposure to the Trade Center dust, are of concern to doctors.

Source: "9/11 Neediest Medical Campaign Raises Nearly $4.7 Million for 9/11 Workers". April 9, 2007. The New York Times Company Press Release.