2020 CFDF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

The Chicago Fire Department Foundation with the support of Wintrust and Ogilvy unveiled the first-of-its-kind fire safety initiative entitled The Fire Escape, a 15-minute immersive experience that teaches the 10 Steps to Fire Safety to Chicago’s elementary school students. Fifth graders at St. Sabina Academy on Chicago’s South Side were among the first in the US to put on Oculus GO headsets and learn the 10 Steps through this virtual reality (VR) program.

This year, the Foundation was able to:

• Purchase and distribute over 4,000 smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in under-served communities.

• Purchase and donate three drones to the Chicago Fire Department.

• Purchase and donate cancer wipes for the CFD. These wipes are specifically formulated to remove toxic, cancer-causing carcinogens from firefighters' and paramedics skin before they leave the scene of a fire.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, CFDF was also able to:

• Purchase and donate 10,000 respirator masks to the Chicago Fire Department.

• Provide 700 cloth face masks for citizens who required EMS transport.

• Deliver 250 full face shields and hand sanitizer, in partnership with the Gary Sinise Foundation, to the Chicago Fire Department.

• Provide lunch for nearly 100 National Guard troops and volunteers at the Chatham COVID-19 testing facility.

The Foundation is proud to provide financial backing to our CFD families in their time of need. Most recent, the Foundation had the honor and privilege of providing financial support to the families of Firefighter Mario Araujo and Firefighter Edward Singleton who succumbed to the COVID-19 virus in April 2020.