BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- Each month, “WBZ Cares” highlights a worthy non-profit organization and tells the story of what that organization does for the community. This month WBZ is profiling Cops for Kids with Cancer, a non-profit organization focused on raising funds to provide assistance to families of children fighting cancer, to improve their quality of life and ease financial burdens so all energies can go to helping their child beat cancer.
Former Boston Police Superintendent-in-Chief Bob Faherty is one of Cops for Kids with Cancer's founding members.
“I always say we’re the best charity that no one knows about,” Faherty said.
That’s likely because it's police who do all the heavy lifting when it comes to raising money.
“We run everything. We're always fundraising,” stated Faherty.
Through different fundraising events in communities across the state, law enforcement departments of all kinds and individual law officers raise money independently but with one common goal...to give that money away to families with a child battling cancer.
Their combined efforts really add up.
“We’ve done over 600 donations so far and that comes to, like, a little over $3 million dollars,” Faherty outlined.
Each family gets $5,000 dollars. The charity reached out to Amy Gonzalez’s family.
“The actual day of the event where they presented us with the check was just, um, probably one of the most memorable things that happened throughout it all,” Gonzalez said.
Her daughter, Kelly, was diagnosed three years ago with a cancerous brain tumor at age 11. For her family and others, it's not just about the financial support they get, it's also about the huge show of community support they receive.
“They escorted us down to the police station in town. Along the route there were residents and police officers, from all over the state, lining the street as we paraded down to the police station. She was pretty happy about all the support,” Gonzalez outlined.
WBZ NewsRadio1030's Shari Small Reports