Heather Pendergast was diagnosed with Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome (SDS) at a young age and was later diagnosed with cancer. Her courageous long battle was lost on October 30, 2008. Heather's smile and positive outlook inspired her community. It is only fitting for Heather's name to be the inspiration for this fund to help other children in unfortunate situations.

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Heather is the daughter of Penny and Ex-Chief Thomas Pendergast of the Massapequa Fire Department. Given their deep ties to the volunteer firefighter/EMS community, they founded The Heather Pendergast Fund, a 501(c)(3) charity, in 2009 in memory of Heather with the mission to assist the children of volunteer firefighters/EMS on Long Island who become stricken with life threatening illnesses. Since then, over 25 families across Long Island have been supported by the Fund to directly cover medical expenses.