Thank you for helping us make the 2024 Boston Heroes Breakfast a success!
More than 190 people joined together to celebrate our 2024 Class of Heroes and raised more than $775,000 to support the Red Cross mission.
Thank you again to our Event Chair and Heritage Honoree, Ronald P. O’Hanley, our Leadership and Heroes Councils, Board members, sponsors, in-kind supporters and volunteers who helped make this incredible event possible!
Thank you for being part of a special morning to celebrate the extraordinary community heroes and to make a difference in the lives of so many people helped by the American Red Cross.
MAKE YOUR IMPACT
Many of you raised your paddles during the event to make a gift in support of the Red Cross mission – thank you!
If you’d still like to contribute, you may donate through this link.
Our 2024 Class of Heroes
Blood Services – Dr. Anbuselvan Dharmarajan, Andover. Dr. Dharmarajan joined the Red Cross in his home country of India and led multiple disaster responses there, including the response to the tsunami of 2005. In Massachusetts, he organizes blood drives and engages youth as volunteers. He also modeled a Red Cross t-shirt in a donor recruitment campaign that generated more than 10,000 blood donation appointments.
Blood Services – Dr. Anbuselvan Dharmarajan, Andover. Dr. Dharmarajan joined the Red Cross in his home country of India and led multiple disaster responses there, including the response to the tsunami of 2005. In Massachusetts, he organizes blood drives and engages youth as volunteers. He also modeled a Red Cross t-shirt in a donor recruitment campaign that generated more than 10,000 blood donation appointments.
Climate Resilience – Susan Baur, East Falmouth. Susan founded the Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage, a group of volunteers (all of whom are in their 60s, 70s and 80s) who dive in ponds across Cape Cod, removing trash and debris that has sunk to the bottom.
Emergency Professional – Mayflower Beach lifeguards, Dennis. Mikey Gray, Tyler Bois, Kam Zaheer and Justin Maykel rescued three separate swimmers who were drowning simultaneously in a high surf advisory. Two of the victims needed CPR and the third, while breathing on her own, was treated on scene by paramedics.
Firefighter – Boston Fire Chief Patrick Murphy was on his way home from a long shift working the July 4 fireworks show on the Esplanade when he passed a two-story home with heavy flames. Witnesses on scene told him there were still people inside. Despite not having his personal protective equipment available, Chief Murphy searched all floors of the burning building, urging several people who were still inside to evacuate immediately.
Good Samaritan – Allison Benkart, Scituate. Allison is CPR certified for her work as a chiropractor, but used those skills at her parents’ home, when her dad woke up with severe chest pain and trouble breathing. Minutes after calling to Allison for help, he passed out. Allison was able to perform chest compressions and have her mom call 911. Peter Benkart was treated for a 90% arterial blockage but survived thanks to Allison.
Law Enforcement – Sgt. Det. John Burrows and Ofc. Awan Freeman, Boston Police Department. Burrows and Awan both worked as medics in the military before joining BPD and have since witnessed hundreds of gunshot or stab wound victims whose lives could have been saved with immediate care prior to first responder arrival. Burrows and Freeman began training fellow officers on controlling life-threatening bleeding by packing wounds and applying tourniquets. Now, they have taken that training to the public, teaching Stop the Bleed courses in community centers and offices around Mattapan and Dorchester.
Military – Brig. Gen. Enoch “Woody” Woodhouse, Boston – Gen. Woodhouse is the oldest living member of the all-Black Tuskegee Airmen fighter pilot unit. He enlisted for WWII on the urging of his mother, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. As a Black man from Roxbury, he faced discrimination and mistreatment throughout his career, but has always been motivated by improving conditions for the next generation.
Nursing – Tina LaTorella, Winchester – Tina was walking her daughter to school before a shift as an RN at Winchester Hospital when she noticed flames coming from a house. Tina knew the family living in the house had a disabled child. She had her daughter call 911, then ran to the house knocking on doors and making sure everyone got out safely while the fire department responded.
Youth – Lilly Campbell, Brockton – 10-year-old Lilly has watched her older brother Isaiah live with the painful symptoms of sickle cell disease her entire life. She decided to help by making and selling bracelets to raise awareness and funds for sickle cell warriors. Each Better Beads by Lilly bracelet includes two little red beads to signify sickle cell.
THANK YOU TO OUR HEROES BREAKFAST SPONSORS
The American Red Cross is asking the public to kick off 2020 by doing something big: 
On Sunday, September 15th, I returned from North Carolina where I supported the people affected by Hurricane Dorian. When I departed from Massachusetts just a week prior, I had been informed that I would lead a team of Red Crossers in the implementation of a recovery program that offers immediate assistance to households severely affected by the storm.
of their volunteer career with the American Red Cross. And in Massachusetts, our volunteers have a lot to celebrate.
Sleeves Up, Hearts Open, All In 