Philanthropy

On Wednesday, January 6, US Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick died during an inappropriate, immoral, and illegal incursion into the US Capitol. Officer Sicknick physically engaged with a group of rowdy invaders and sustained injuries from which he later succumbed. Prior to his role with the US Capitol Police, Officer Sicknick served as a staff sergeant with the New Jersey Air National Guard, including on deployment for Operation Enduring Freedom.

Officer Sicknick joins a far-too-large group of law enforcement officers who have been injured protecting property and lives over the past year from disorderly mobs. We mourn each of these officers, and we fully condemn all violent and disorderly protest activity irrespective of the political affiliation of the perpetrators.

The individuals who committed this crime must be identified and subject to full prosecution for their role in Officer Sicknick’s death. The New York Young Republican Club made a contribution of $250 to Officer Sicknick’s family.

The New York Young Republican Club donated $250 to the Barstool Sports Small Business Fund to help the many small businesses in New York City and around the country recover from the ongoing Covid-19 lockdowns preventing them from serving and surviving. We thank Barstool Sports and their fearless leader, Dave Portnoy, for setting up this fund for those in need! 

Homes for Veterans is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to constructing barrier-free renovations for veterans across the nation. They also launched a COVID Care Package program to aid NY and NJ Veteran nursing facilities, homes, and hospitals. The New York Young Republican Club raised $500 which Homes for Veterans matched for a total of $1000. This was used to purchase essential items such as soap, toothpaste, lotion, t-shirts, socks, and feminine products. These items were delivered by volunteers from our Philanthropy Committee to the VA Veterans Hospital of Manhattan and distributed to our veteran heroes who have been isolated due to Covid-19.  If you’re interested in supporting Homes for Veterans, please visit their website here. 

Blue Lives Matter seeks to honor and recognize the actions of law enforcement, strengthen public support, and provide much-needed resources to law enforcement officers and their families. On January 14th, 2021, the New York Young Republican Club donated three $200 gift cards to Blue Lives Matter NYC in honor of 3 fallen officers from the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Each gift card will be presented to the family of an NYPD officer killed in service to their country so they can spend a meal together in celebration of the heroic life of their lost relation. The Committee was also happy to support local small businesses at this time by purchasing these gift cards for a good cause.

We honored:

• Officer Kevin Lee, 31, collapsed on January 27, 2006 following a struggle with a robbery suspect at East 86th Street and Lexington Avenue as he and his partners were trying to collar three men who had robbed a store on the Upper East Side. He left behind a wife and six-year-old son.
• Four days before Christmas 2016, Sgt. Joseph Lemm’s wife and two children awaited his call from Afghanistan, but the call never came. A suicide bomber drove his motorbike into Lemm’s convoy as it patrolled a village near Bagram Airfield. Lemm and five other service members in his convoy died in the attack. Lemm was 45. Lemm enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and was promoted to technical sergeant with the 105th Base Defense Squadron. He was deployed three times, twice to Afghanistan and once to Iraq. Lemm started his 15-year New York Police Department career at the 48th Precinct and was promoted to detective.
• Officer Brian Mulkeen had been in the NYPD for seven years when he was killed on September 29, 2019 by friendly fire while wrestling with an armed man during a confrontation in the Bronx. Mulkeen dedicated his career to working in the Anti-Crime Unit at the 44th Precinct. “He was the best of the best,” NYPD Captain Jeffrey Heilig said. “He was a gentle giant, and I meant that. When it was time to be on the street, to be the police, he was. When it was time to be compassionate and to have a heart, he did.”

A special thank you goes to Joseph Imperatrice, founder of Blue Lives Matter NYC, for collaborating with our Philanthropy Chair, Francesca DiPaola, to make this possible. We look forward to working with Blue Lives Matter NYC in the future. #BackTheBlue

#BoycottGoya started trending on social media after Robert Unanue, CEO of Goya Foods, voiced support for former President Donald J. Trump at a Rose Garden White House gathering. The New York Young Republican Club collaborated with the New York Republican National Hispanic Assembly, headed by Chairman Gabriel E. Montalvo, to hold a Hispanic Heritage social while collecting Goya products to support our poor and hungry in New York City. 

The New York Young Republican Club expressed its unreserved disgust at the cold-blooded murder of 77-year-old retired St. Louis Police Captain David Dorn. Captain Dorn dedicated 38 years of his life to serving his community. He asked for nothing in return. Captain Dorn was shot and killed by a cohort of radical insurrectionists intent on stealing a flat-screen television. These brutes left him to die in a pool of his own blood. The anarchy, destruction, and chaos plaguing our country must cease. Free society cannot endorse or permit barbaric violence administered by anarchists who deride the memory of the civilians killed. We pray for the family of Captain Dorn. We were happy to donate $300 to them in support.

Covid-19 hit New York City extremely hard. Many people were debilitated by the disease, businesses were forced to close, hospitals were overwhelmed and PPE items were out of stock. Our Club members acted quickly. Corresponding Secretary, Ilana Marcus had the courage to donate blood which saved many lives during a time when people were unable to donate or just too scared to risk leaving their homes. Fundraising Chairwoman Elizabeth Holland made masks by hand when masks were scarce and donated them to Club members in need. 

In collaboration with our friends at the Staten Island Young Republican Club, we collected and donated items for our brave troops stationed overseas.