A story of surviving September 11 leads corporate executive Nancy Kennedy to fulfill her cause of fundraising for cancer research and patient care with Hackensack Meridian Health
2,996 people died from the September 11th attacks in 2001. More than twenty years later, that number continues to grow, due to the ongoing toll of September 11th related cancers. Progress, however, is being made in the fight.
Nancy Kennedy, director of development at the Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) Foundation finds added purpose to her work as a survivor of 9/11 and fundraising for cancer care, specifically with those developing cancers from their presence at or near Ground Zero.
Kennedy was a 39-year-old Vice President of Sales for Morgan Stanley working at the World Trade Center. What started as a regional directors’ meeting on the 70th floor of the South Tower quickly capsized when she “heard a noise and felt a concussion,” soon seeing flying debris from the meeting room windows.
That was the plane hitting the North Tower.
Within minutes, Nancy was gathering her colleagues to evacuate the building. The internal announcements said to stay in place, but it was her VP of Security Richard “Rick” Rescorla who ordered the evacuation. Rescorla perished in the attack, but is long heralded for his heroic action that saved countless lives that day.
It was right as they were beginning the evacuation process in numbers that the plane hit the South Tower, just eight floors above where Nancy and her colleagues were, at that moment, in the process of calling their families to say they were okay.
After making sure her colleagues were with her, Nancy made a 70-story dash down a special emergency and evacuation staircase–the entrances to the main staircases were blocked due to damage from the blast–Nancy survived by exiting the South Tower just 17 minutes before it collapsed.
A year after her harrowing escape, driven by a purpose to help, Nancy joined the American Red Cross as a Disaster Response Volunteer. She helped train other volunteers for their response to Hurricane Katrina, and eventually helped fundraising efforts.
“It turned out I was good at fundraising,” said Nancy, “So they hired me as a fundraiser.”
Fast forward eight years. Nancy had adopted HMH as her healthcare network while consulting nonprofit organizations in their fundraising efforts when a career opportunity came up within the Hackensack Meridian Health network.
Nancy joined the HUMC Foundation, and has for nine years been fulfilling her passions of raising money for cancer care and research for HUMC’s John Theurer Cancer Center (JTCC). Now the Foundation’s director of development, Nancy is proud of the quality of healthcare across HMH, and works to continue in its innovation and improvement through her fundraising efforts and expertise.
Over the years, Nancy saw friends and colleagues getting sick as complications of living through 9/11. She has signed affidavits attesting to colleagues’ presence with her on the day as they attributed their illnesses to the harmful chemical, dust, and ash exposure at Ground Zero.
Originally having joined the Foundation “for a good cause,” Nancy’s drive is strengthened by her kinship with those who went through the day with her.
“If something good can come out of the horror of that day, I’m okay,” said Nancy, who sees personal reward in her professional endeavors. “Obviously when a large gift or donation comes [to the Foundation], that’s the cherry on top. But the best part of my job is meeting grateful patients who want to give back after receiving excellent care here, and with their gifts, recognize those who provided such care.”
“I am lucky enough to still be here,” said Nancy, “And fortunate to be able to do something important to our community.”
With the anniversary of 9/11 approaching, Nancy Kennedy is available for interviews as they pertain to her role at the Foundation, fundraising cancer care and treatment for 9/11-related and all cancers, and how her surviving the day led her to her current position.
SOURCE; Hackensack Meridian Health
