The Ellen and Alan Levin Family Foundation has seeded a fund at the Delaware Community Foundation to help pay for the education of children of Delaware first responders killed or fully disabled in the line of duty.
The Delaware Fallen Heroes Scholarship Fund, initiated with a $100,000 gift from the Levin Foundation, is an endowed fund that will generate a perpetual stream of charitable dollars. The fund will provide scholarships for children and stepchildren, through age 25, of Delaware firefighters, police officers and EMTs killed or fully disabled in the line of duty on or after Jan. 1, 2016.
“Ellen and I were moved by the deaths of Wilmington firefighters Lt. Christopher Leach and Senior Firefighter Jerry Fickes, as well as their injured colleagues,” Alan Levin said. “We hope this fund will serve as a way for all of us to help care for the children these and other first responders leave behind. It is our hope that companies and others in Delaware will support the fund, which supports those who do so much for all of us.”
Levin is the former owner of the Happy Harry’s, now Walgreen drug store chain. He also served as Delaware Economic Development Secretary under Gov. Jack Markell.
Each year, a committee will evaluate the pool of applicants and award scholarships to those deemed eligible.
“We are extremely pleased to partner with the Levin Foundation on this fund,” DCF CEO Stuart Comstock-Gay said. “Their generosity in addressing this important issue is inspirational, and a model of what philanthropy can do for those in need.”
To contribute to the Delaware Fallen Heroes Scholarship Fund, visit delcf.org/heroes. The DCF is a 501(c)3 organization, and gifts are fully tax-deductible to the extent permitted by the IRS.
The Delaware Community Foundation is a manager and resource of charitable funds.
