In this episode, we meet Jenny and Darin Iacobelli. Jenny and Darin’s daughter, Nola was diagnosed with Cardiofaciocutaneous Syndrome at just 1 year old. The disease is very rare—only 400 children in the world have been diagnosed. The Iacobelli’s are able to maintain their family and lifestyle despite the stress and challenges. They are truly role models to families everywhere.

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During this episode, Welles’ parents, Alison and Jefferson Crowther, join us to honor Welles’ life and share his heroic story. Welles was a 24-year-old equities trader who worked on the 104th floor of the South Tower. The day the Trade Towers fell, Welles drew from his training as a volunteer firefighter to put his life on the line in order to save many civilians. Welles’ parents were able to identify his brave actions that day through the stories of “a civilian wearing a red bandanna who saved many lives on September 11, 2001.”

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Supported by the Fetzer Institute in partnership with the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust, the Red Bandanna Project, social and emotional learning curricula for students of all ages, has been created. The lessons taught are Leadership, Caring for Others, TEAM, The Power of One, Bridging Divides, Forgiveness andCarpe Diem. Five separate curricula for elementary, middle and high school classrooms, sports teams and camps/youth programs have been pilot tested in 100 schools and youth programs across the country and received by teachers, students , coaches and parents with much enthusiasm.

The Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust was established in September 2001 by the Crowther Family to honor and keep their beloved son’s memory alive through good works benefiting young people. The mission of the Welles Remy Crowther Trust recognizes and awards academic and athletic excellence in young men and women who serve their communities through education, health, recreation and character development. The Trust supports other not-for-profit organizations that benefit young people through annual gifts and special awards.

During this episode of Family Comes First, we are joined by Stephen DeMarco, a Staff Sargent in the Army Air Force in WWII, and his daughter, Stephanie DeMarco. Stephen walks us through what it was like to be a young man drafted to fight for his country during WWII.

Stephanie shares the honors her father has received, including the bronze star medal, good conduct medal, and European Union medal. She also states, “My father never lost a plane. Out of all the ones that didn’t come back, none were his. He made sure every one of his planes came back, and that was a pretty amazing record.

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Big Apple Honor Flight is a hub of the national Honor Flight Network serving all five boroughs of NYC. Our mission is to bring veterans to Washington, D.C. on a one-day trip to view the memorials built in their honor at no cost to these heroes and give them the recognition they deserve.

On this episode of Family Comes First™, It Started With Pennies, we are joined by Nicole Memnon and Greg Gengo. Nicole was approached by Father Tom in the 1990s to aid in arranging a connection between the children in his parish and the children in Haiti.

Nicole explains how his mission started with pennies. The children of the parish would bring in pennies during Lent to give to the children in Haiti. Father Tom believed connecting the children was so important. Nicole states, “…In every child, he saw the face of God. He always spoke about Matthew 25: when I was hungry, you fed me and you visited me.”

Greg explains the donation process and how they were able to provide not only money for the children in Haiti but clothes, hygiene products, food, etc.—things we take for granted.

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We kick off this brand new season of Family Comes First™ by visiting with the founder and Executive Director of Angela’s House, Bob Policastro, and Anne Bingham, whose daughter is a resident of Angela’s House in Smithtown.

Bob shares with us how, 23 years ago, when his daughter, Angela, was born, he saw the lack of places and resources that could provide the proper care for medically frail children in Long Island, NY. Angela’s House was created in his daughter’s memory to ensure children receive the proper care at home and don’t need to be institutionalized due to lack of resources.

Anne explains how, prior to arriving at Angela’s House, horrific images came to mind when she thought about putting her daughter in a home. After visiting the house, she realized how beautiful and inviting it was, with loving and caring staff.

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In 1992, the non for profit Angela’s House, was created to offer families and professionals an agency to call to help medically frail children and their families. Angela’s House has helped to simplify home care options for families by coordinating the extensive array of services needed to support medically frail children at home.