The Hero Fund will create a special committee to look at ways to recognize and honor those who have willingly placed themselves in harm’s way to care for those afflicted with COVID-19.
Citing Andrew Carnegie’s intention with the Hero Fund, the Commission unanimously passed a resolution stating their commitment to aid in the monumental task of recognizing and honoring the countless people who have risked exposure to the novel Coronavirus to care for others.
“With Andrew Carnegie specifically mentioning doctors and nurses during epidemics in the Deed of Trust, it’s clear that the type of selflessness shown by not only medical professionals but all front-line workers during this pandemic is exactly what Carnegie wanted to reward and encourage,” Commission Chair Mark Laskow said.
“These rescuers represent whom Andrew Carnegie called the ‘heroes of civilization,’” Laskow added. “We are honored to recognize their contribution to our society in this crucial moment.”
The resolution states that some options for the recognition include a monetary donation and/or a permanent monument. The last time the Hero Fund donated to a disaster was in 2002, when it donated $50,000 each to the Todd M. Beamer Foundation and the September 11, 2001 Children’s Fund, Inc., in honor of those countless people who gave of themselves to secure the safety of others, at the site of the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and aboard United Airlines Flight 93 in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks.
The full resolution states:
“WHEREAS, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, under the terms of its foundation, is empowered and expected to exercise the intentions of the founder in recognizing the exhibition of selfless heroism where and by whom it is to be found; and
“WHEREAS, as an example of such selfless action which should be considered was given by the founder, in the Commission’s deed of Trust, that “no action (is) more heroic than that of doctors and nurses volunteering their services in the case of epidemics”; it is hereby
“RESOLVED, that the Hero Fund commit to and explore appropriate actions to recognize and honor those who have willingly placed themselves in harm’s way to care for those afflicted by the novel Coronavirus COVID-19, which has affected global populations at the present time, and for which there is presently no cure; and that a monetary donation and/or permanent monument to the many selfless individuals who have exhibited heroic action during this global pandemic be considered, as appropriate recognition, lasting memorial, and clear pronouncement as to the extreme heroism displayed in behalf of mankind.”