Skaneateles (WSYR-TV) - The family and friends of one 9/11 victim have spent the last decade making sure his death was not in vain.
“Todd’s Fund” was created in memory of Skaneateles native Todd Pitman, who died in the World Trade Center during the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
His fund has generated nearly three quarters of a million dollars for Central New Yorkers in need, changing the lives of many.
One person whose life was changed by the legacy of Todd Pitman is Matt McCabe, for whom Todd’s fund helped finance a heart transplant.
About five years ago, McCabe’s heart condition began to deteriorate.
“It started back in 2006 and there are so many times I could have been dead it's not even funny,” he said.
His wife said her world nearly came crashing down.
“You think you're on top of the world. You think that you have it all together. Then you have some kind of catastrophic medical issue in your life,” Gayle McCabe said.
Matt McCabe’s heart stopped beating nearly 60 times over the course of just three months. Then, last year, his life was saved by a heart transplant. Meanwhile, the family’s finances were in dire straits.
“We were struggling to make the mortgage payments,” Gayle McCabe said. “We were struggling to make any payments. I had no income. My husband had no income.”
That’s where Todd’s Fund came in. Central New Yorkers may see signs every year around Sept. 11 promoting the annual fundraiser to support the cause. They’ve raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to help countless families in Central New York like the McCabes.
Todd’s father, Eric Pitman, says it can be tough attending the fundraiser every year. It falls near or on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and sometimes he would rather grieve privately.
“So many people comment on, ‘My gosh, how many things you do and how wonderful those things are.’ So, as long as we can continue to do that. I know Todd would want me to,” Eric said.
The fund’s executive director, Gail Calloway, said the fund is unusual.
“We're the fund that is like not many. Everybody that falls through the cracks…we're the ones who help them,” Calloway said.
The McCabes are humbled by what the fund in Todd Pitman’s name has done for them.
“It has kept a lot of us afloat,” Gayle McCabe said. “You know?”
The tenth annual golf tournament and dinner in Skaneateles to benefit Todd’s Fund will be held this Saturday. More can be learned about
Todd’s Fund at its website.
