New York City fallen first responders’ families were beyond touched to receive contributions from Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s multimillion dollar charity donation.
To celebrate their July 3 nuptials, Swift and Kelce, both 36, donated $26 million to an array of worthy causes close to their hearts in various American cities that hold special meaning for the couple. One of the recipients was Answer the Call, a NYC-based nonprofit that helps provide financial assistance and support to families of NYPD, FDNY, PAPD and EMS personnel killed in the line of duty.
“We are extremely grateful to Taylor and Travis for their incredible support of Answer the Call,” executive director Lauren Profeta wrote in a statement shared via Instagram at the time. “Their extraordinary donation will ensure that we can continue to provide much-needed financial assistance to the families of New York City’s fallen first responders. We thank them for their kindness, their generosity and for their fulfillment to our collective promise to Never Forget.”
In the weeks after Swift and Kelce said “I do” in a star-studded wedding inside NYC’s famed Madison Square Garden, After the Call shared a handful of heartfelt letters addressed to the newlyweds from families who have been positively impacted by their charitable donation.
“I know firsthand how much the support of this organization means to families like mine,” Patricia Polimeni, whose detective husband Jack Polimeni died in 2020, wrote in a statement. “Your donation is so much more than a financial gift. It provides hope, comfort and sense of community for families who are learning to navigate life after the loss of someone who dedicated their life to serving others.”
Amanda Rivera, who lost her dad William Rivera in 2004, noted in a separate letter that Answer the Call helped her family “find [their] way” after his death.
“We found a community where people knew what the other has been through and made friends who eventually became family,” she wrote. “The organization has given me so many opportunities and experiences that I never thought I would experience — like throwing out the first pitch at a New York Mets game, attending concerts and much more.”
Amanda, who calls herself a “dedicated Swiftie,” further stressed that Swift and Kelce’s support “means the world to” her.
Allison Garger, whose husband Thomas J. Kennedy was killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in NYC, noted in a separate letter that her family once attended the pop star’s concert at MetLife Stadium.
“Taylor, in the rainy concert at MetLife Stadium one year, you touched my son Michael’s hand,” Garger recalled without detailing when the Grammy winner performed in New Jersey. “He has been inspired by you since then. We are forever grateful! Heart-shaped hands forever!”
Valerie Perry, for her part, noted that Answer the Call “changed [her] life” following her husband William J. Perry’s death in 1980.
“They have brought smiles because I feel like my Bill is always remembered, even after all these years,” Valerie said in a statement of her own. “Now, to read your donation? I AM IN TEARS for such a gift to all these families that have been through so much. Prayers for your future together and God bless both of you for your generosity and your caring souls for doing something so amazing.”
