Dream Foundation To Grant Terminal 9/11 Victim A Final Dream » Dream Foundation

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Dream Foundation To Grant Terminal 9/11 Victim A Final Dream

Santa Barbara, CA – Monday, October 3, 2011, Dream Foundation – the first and largest national wish-granting organization for adults and their families suffering life-threatening illness – will fulfill Chaz Fudge’s final dream to find closure by visiting the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York, NY.

Fudge is facing a 6-12 month prognosis in his battle with stage IV (non-small cell) lung cancer, believed to have been caused by the inhalation of asbestos during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Fudge served as a Telecommunication Analyst at Ground Zero for Mattel Telecom and suffered many broken bones during the attack. Several years later, his wife – a high school teacher – died of breast cancer and Fudge was left to raise his then 13-year-old son on his own.

In his letter to Dream Foundation, Fudge writes, “I was left with a 13-year-old, African-American son, Chaz III. My wife’s, mother’s and dad’s dying wishes were for him to receive a college education, as my wife and I had been afforded. It has been rough physically, mentally and financially. We have not had a real vacation since his mother was living.”

Dream Foundation will provide airfare and accommodations for Fudge and his son to fly from Philadelphia to Newark on Saturday, October 1, so that they can spend time with Fudge’s sister, and visit the graves of their beloved family members. At approximately 11 a.m., Monday, October 3, Fudge and his son will drive to Manhattan, where they will visit the September 11 Memorial. It will be Fudge’s first time back to Ground Zero since the attacks.

“All of the world bore witness to the events that lead to Chaz’s current condition,” says Dream Foundation Founder and President, Thomas Rollerson. “We feel a special sense of obligation and duty to see to it that this man and his son find some peace and closure with this dream experience. We couldn’t take care of the final wishes of those who lost their lives that day, but we can serve those who continue to be victims of those attacks.”

Still, in serving Fudge’s dream, Rollerson acknowledges the more than 2,000 final dreams Dream Foundation fulfills each year. “Indeed, the circumstances surrounding Chaz’s cancer are catastrophic on a global level. Still, a terminal prognosis is catastrophic experience to anyone battling a life-threatening disease. It’s an honor to serve each and every dream that comes to us,” Rollerson says.

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