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IRISH EXAMINER | January 18th, 201720 awardsexaminer
Frances Pope Memorial Foundation
Hosts 35th Annual Friendship Ball
On Friday, February sight of its mission.
24th, the Frances
Pope Memorial Just as it was on that first
Foundation will celebrate
35 years of helping fami- night in 1982, it is full of great
lies cope with the chal-
lenges of childhood cancer. music, fine food and spirits,
The Pope Foundation’s genuine camaraderie and a
first fundraising event was
held on Saturday, February serious commitment to raise
13, 1982, with a small circle
of friends in the basement of lots of money for families
St. Stephen of Hungary
Parish, in a corner of New who have children battling
York City called Yorkville.
cancer.
Brought on by one fami-
ly’s tragic loss of their beauti- This year the Frances Pope
ful baby girl, a true cross sec-
tion of a great city came Memorial Foundation
together; friends, family,
musicians, restaurateurs, is honoring two fine men
clergy, numerous members
of the IBEW, Local #3, as who helped them get to
well as members of New
York’s Finest and Bravest. where they are today -
They came together not Andrew K. Breslin and
only to honor the memory of
Franny Pope, but with the Raymond C. Baccala.
intent of helping other fami-
lies who were facing the chal- Andy Breslin, born in Co.
lenges of caring for a child
with cancer. Cavan but raised in Kells, Co.
Thanks to the wonderful Meath, is the owner of some
generosity of their ever-
growing circle of friends their of New York’s most loved
primary annual fundraiser
has moved from the base- restaurants, The Red Lion,
ment of St. Stephen’s to the
Grand Ballroom of the icon- Banc Cafe, Whitman and
ic Pierre Hotel - never losing
Bloom and The Ellington, to
Andy Breslin
name a few. Ray Baccala
In addition, he owns Smith Center of which Andy is a
member of the board. He is
& Wollensky in London and also an active member of the in 1981. Today Ray holds the His history of charitable
Knights of St. Patrick and was position of President of work includes being a com-
several pubs in Ireland, their honoree in 2013. Tradition Securities and mittee member for numer-
Derivatives, Inc. ous organizations which
including Cafe Insane and Ray Baccala is a native of includes Paul O’Neill’s Right
Brooklyn but has made New Ray also has an extensive Field Charities, the David
Whelan’s of Wexford Street Jersey his home for the past history of community Wright Foundation & the
27 years where he and his involvement. He has served Linda E. Cardinale Multiple
in Dublin. wife, Dianne raised their two as President of both the Sclerosis Center at
children, Samantha and Marlboro Little League and CentraState Health Care
Andy and his beautiful Robert. the Marlboro Mustangs System. C
Diamond Club.
wife Caroline, reside in He began his Wall Street
career as a part-time clerk for
Manhattan with their Salomon Brothers in 1979
and was promoted to trader
adorable 10 year old daugh-
ter, Kaela.
Besides being a long-time
supporter of the Pope About The Frances Pope
Memorial Foundation
Foundation, Andy has been a
After the loss of their daughter, Franny, in the sum-
generous supporter of mer of 1981, Mary O’Dowd and Tony Pope vowed
numerous organizations to do something to keep her memory alive while
helping other families who were still facing the chal-
especially The Irish Arts
lenges of childhood cancer. They founded the
Frances Pope Memorial Foundation in 1982 to help
to pay expenses associated with caring for children
with cancer that are NOT covered by insurance.
They make every effort to respond to the unique
needs of each individual family. Expenses can
include travel, accommodations and living costs for
families receiving medical care when away from
home. In some cases, they pay for other costs to
ensure families can continue to make ends meet,
such as childcare for siblings, or even car or mort-
gage payments. They also try to minimize the bur-
den of paperwork, are quick to respond and stick
with the families through the duration of their child’s
illness.
The Frances Pope Memorial Foundation works
closely with social workers from many major health
care systems in the metropolitan area. A family
can be referred by a health care provider, a friend
of the foundation or they can send a request via
their website at francespopefoundation.org.
