Dozens of orphaned children and grandchildren who lost their loved ones in the line of duty will throw the first pitch at Citi Field Wednesday ahead of the Mets game against the Chicago White Sox.
Among those with the ceremonial honor for Answer the Call’s 40th anniversary are Jackson and Stella Abear, who just five years ago lost their father to COVID, a disease he contracted while serving as an NYPD officer visiting crime victims in hospitals during the early days of the pandemic.
The kids were just 2 years old and 4 months at the time of the tragedy — and they mostly remember Detective Raymond Abear through the stories their loved ones share of his heroism and bravery while the rest of the city was gripped with fear.
“I feel especially happy that they haven’t forgotten about our family and that they’re still including my children and Ray, even five years later, to do something this monumental that they will remember forever,” mom Catherine Abear told The Post ahead of the festivities.
More than 1,200 Answer The Call families are expected to attend Wednesday’s Game & Family Day, the annual flagship fundraising event for the first responder charity.
It’s a bittersweet day for loved ones left behind, Abear explained — every year, she has watched in awe as Jackson and Stella reunite with other children who also lost their loved ones in the line of duty.
“They just have an instant bond and connection because they know there are families like us,” Abear said. “My son is 7-years old now so he understands that these are families just like us, who lost someone that they love very much. And he doesn’t feel so out of place the way he may sometimes at school.
“It’s just the kind of place you like to be because you never have to explain yourself,” she went on. “You just fit right in with everyone. And it’s kind of like how firemen and police officers have this very special bonding camaraderie with each other. The line of duty families have built that same kind of bond.”
The fundraiser, formerly known as the New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund, was established in 1985 by Mets legend Daniel “Rusty” Staub, who was inspired after reading about a young NYPD officer whose line-of-duty death left behind his widow and three children.
Staub’s own uncle died while serving in the New Orleans Police Department, and the six-time All-Star used his own superstardom to establish the fundraiser to ease the financial burdens placed on loved ones already grappling with emotional turmoil.
Over the last 40 years, Answer The Call has provided over $180 million directly to more than 1,000 families. This year alone, the charity has distributed over $5.5 million to more than 500 families, with widows ranging in age from their 20s to their 90s.
Each family is provided with $50,000 typically within the first 24 hours of the tragedy, followed by an annual stipend of $11,000.
“Their world stops, but the bills don’t,” said Lauren Profeta, executive director of Answer the Call.
“The last thing we want a family to worry about is how they’re going to pay their rent or buy food or any of the regular expenses that they might have, or even the funeral. “
But the fundraiser provides much more than a financial lifeline for families — it’s also a community builder where widows and orphans can meet other families going through the same struggles, she said.
The annual Game & Family Day at Citi Field is “like a big family reunion,” Profeta said.
“There’s a sense of community that they’re not alone, they haven’t been forgotten and that they have each other,” she said.
For families like the Farinos, the annual gameday is an opportunity to remember their loved ones as more than a hero.
Capt. Tommy Farino was one of the 343 FDNY members who died in the Sept. 11 attacks, but the loved ones he left behind prefer to remember him as a Mets fanatic.
“My kids, Jane and Jimmy, were 6 and10 when 9/11 happened,” Mary Farino-Thomas told The Post.
“They don’t like the idea that their dad is a ‘hero’ because he was killed on 9/11. They’ve always felt like ‘our dad is our dad, and that’s why he’s our hero.’”
Farino-Thomas and her late husband’s love story was marked by numerous trips to Shea Stadium, a trend that continued when they welcomed their children.
The pair of siblings has always been lowkey about their father’s heroism, and have chosen to honor his memory in more personal ways — Jimmy and his wife are expecting their first son this summer, who will be named “Roman Thomas Farino.”
But on Wednesday, Jane’s daughter Hannah, 7, will throw out the first pitch in honor of the grandfather she had only heard about through stories.
“She has a little Mets outfit, and my daughter has told her that my deceased husband — her dad — was also a huge, huge Mets fan,” said Farino-Thomas.
“My daughter had said, ‘it’s very special, exciting and meaningful to experience things with my children that their grandfather — my dad — enjoyed doing with me as a child. They had the opportunity to experience the parts of him that they wouldn’t otherwise get to enjoy and learn about thanks to Answer The Call.’”
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