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Our Story

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.

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.

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OUR IMPACT

15
YEARS IN OPERATION

28
FAMILIES SUPPORTED

$292,158.16
MEDICAL EXPENSES PAID

Beneficiary Departments

BAYVILLE

BELLMORE

CARLE PLACE

CENTRAL ISLIP

EAST ISLIP

EAST MEADOW

EASTPORT

ELMONT

FLORAL PARK

GLENWOOD LANDING

HAGERMAN

HAUPPAUGE

LAKELAND

LINDENHURST

MASSAPEQUA

NORTH BABYLON

NORTH BELLMORE

OCEANSIDE

ROCKVILLE CENTRE

WEST BABYLON

...and counting!          

Impact

Meet Penelope

The Heather Pendergast Fund has been helping Penelope on her journey since 2014. Penelope was born with Emanuel Syndrome and has made amazing progress with advanced physical therapy! Heather's Fund has been paying for this therapy since it is not covered by insurance.

Meet Abigail

Abigail, 16, at her final chemo treatment and ringing of the bell celebration at NYU Langone Medical Center. The Heather Pendergast Fund has been covering all travel expenses for her chemo, radiation, and surgeries since January 2024.

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