Rob McClure being held by l-r John Holzapfel, Shane McKeon, Derek Isaac and Glen Perry
The Friday, November 9th 8pm performance of Broadway’s CHAPLIN at the Barrymore Theatre, 243 West 47th Street, will benefit the NYC Firefighters’ charity, Lil’ Bravest Inc., which raises money for children with diseases.
A limited number of generously underwritten orchestra seats are available for Friday, November 9 at $80 via the Lil’ Bravest Inc. To purchase tickets, contact Captain Bill Toelstedt at 917-584-5270 or at captainbill4@yahoo.com
The Lil’ Bravest Inc. was founded to improve the quality of life for children who are hospitalized or being treated for childhood diseases. Christopher Horgan, Jonathan Ziegler and Timothy Carroll, the officers of the Lil’ Bravest Inc., said that “the goal is to put a smile on the faces of kids who are going through a very difficult time. These kids are the true heroes and the funds raised go directly to improving their quality of life.”
Mindy and Bob Rich, the lead producers of CHAPLIN said “We are thrilled that we can host an evening of theatre to help this amazing and worthwhile charity and to raise awareness of the wonderful things they do for kids in need.”
The Lil’ Bravest was started by a group of Firefighters from Engine 84 and Ladder 34, located in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. They started the Lil’ Bravest in honor of two of their “Brothers” they lost in 2010. On October 17th, 2010 Rory O’flaherty , who served two tours in Iraq with the U.S. Army, passed away due to an enlarged heart at the age of 31. It was an unexpected tragedy. Two months later they lost their mentor and “senior man” of the firehouse John “Sully” Sullivan. John was a 27 year veteran of Ladder 34 and died on Christmas Eve, 2010 of cancer as a result of his rescue and recovery efforts following September 11th.
The Lil’ Bravest was started in memory of these two great men. Rory volunteered his time at Blythedale Children’s Hospital located near his home in Westchester, NY. John was responsible for their annual firehouse Christmas dinner for the elderly residents of Washington Heights. Following their untimely deaths, they decided to combine the ideas of John and Rory and begin visiting the Children of Columbia Presbyterian’s cancer center on holidays. Columbia Presbyterian is the nearest hospital to their firehouse, located in their first due response area. Their firehouse would bring candy to the children who were stuck in the hospital for the holidays. It was a huge success, bringing smiles to the children’s faces. They wanted to do more, so they began having pizza parties for the children, where they would spend the day with them, provide food for them and play games. Funding for the parties was solely through tee shirt sales. If one member of their firehouse bought a shirt, that sale would then pay for a tee shirt for one of the children. Members of the firehouse would also pitch in and pay for the food and drinks they would bring. It started out as two parties a year, one around Christmas time, and an end of the school year party. In hopes of “doing more”, and in honor of John Sullivan and Rory O’flaherty they decided to start the Lil’ Bravest, Inc.
For more information on the Lil’ Bravest Inc. go to: LilBravest@gmail.com
Donations (checks made payable to Lil Bravest Fund) can be sent to:
Engine 84/Ladder 34
513 West 161st Street
New York, NY 10032
attn: John Szeligowski