On the Avenue: Kiwanis Club helps raise $25k+ for FDNY family
“No one fights alone” — and this fundraiser proves it!
More than 250 individual donors have contributed to the Facebook fundraiser launched by members of the Kiwanis Club of Bensonhurst & Bay Ridge on Feb. 7 to benefit “Castle on the Hill” Firefighter Reno Genovese and his wife Michele, who has been bravely battling a rare form of brain cancer since November 2021. In less than four weeks, the Club had surpassed its goal of $25,000 raised to help the family with increased costs since the devastating diagnosis (donations are still being accepted at this link). Michele is mother to the couple’s three young children — Gemma, Gia and Matteo.
“It’s been overwhelming and we’re so thankful to everyone who donated, from our very own Club members and supporters to complete strangers who were moved by the story and felt compelled to help,” said Ben-Bay Kiwanis Club President Thomas Aellis. “We can’t wait to deliver this money directly to Reno, Michele and the kids and to let them know that they are loved and appreciated by so many.”