The Letters Taylor Swift And Travis Kelce Received After Their First Responder Donation Will Break Your Heart In The Best Way
Before their July 3 wedding at Madison Square Garden, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce donated $2 million to Answer the Call, the fund that supports families of NYC police officers, firefighters, port authority police, and EMS personnel killed in the line of duty. The gift was part of the couple's $26 million in pre-wedding charitable giving to 20 organizations across cities that hold meaning for both of them. In the weeks since, Answer the Call began sharing letters from the families the gift will support, and the messages are extraordinary. Mary Farino, whose husband Fire Battalion Chief Thomas J. Farino died on September 11, 2001, wrote of what the donation means as the anniversary approaches. "My children were six and ten years old when their dad was killed. Later, when my daughter was off to college, all she allowed us to listen to on our trips was Taylor's music. My son is a Travis Kelce fan. How special for my family to have you honor such a great charity."
Amanda Rivera, whose father officer William Rivera was killed in 2004, wrote: "Early in those first years following my dad's death, Answer the Call was there to help my family." Patricia Polimeni, whose detective husband Jack Polimeni died in 2020, added: "I know firsthand how much the support of this organization means to families like mine. Your donation is so much more than a financial gift." Answer the Call's executive director Lauren Profeta thanked the couple on behalf of all who will be helped: "We thank them for their kindness, their generosity and for their fulfillment to our collective promise to Never Forget."
