Barasch & McGarry - Lawyers for the 9/11 Community

06/17/2026

To honor the 25th remembrance of 9/11, The Barasch & McGarry Charitable Foundation is awarding scholarships to five graduating high school seniors. We need your help spreading the word to ensure every eligible student has the chance to apply.

———
Who Qualifies?
Children or grandchildren of individuals who passed away from a 9/11-related illness. This is open to the entire 9/11 community—you do NOT need to be a client of our firm to apply.

Deadline: All application materials must be submitted by June 30th, 2026.

Learn More: www.baraschfoundation.org

Even if you don't have a family member who qualifies for this scholarship, please consider sharing this with someone who might so that incoming college freshmen are made aware of the opportunity.

06/11/2026

7 years ago today, our team was deeply honored to be in Washington, D.C., standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the late NYPD Detective Lou Alvarez, Jon Stewart, and John Feal. That day, they gave incredibly emotional, courageous testimonies before Congress—a defining moment that galvanized the nation.

Together, after dozens of grueling trips to Capitol Hill, we won a monumental victory. The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed the permanent extension and full funding of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund for the next 70 years. That historic win changed the landscape for 9/11 survivors and their families.

The battle was won, but our work continues. We are still here, ensuring everyone in the 9/11 community gets the support they need. No one should have to face these battles alone.

06/11/2026

We're proud to share this upcoming event featuring John Feal, whose tireless advocacy for the 9/11 community reshaped national policy and continues to inspire us all.

Meet the Author: John Feal
Author of: I Will Follow You Anywhere

Wednesday, June 17th - 3:00pm EST

Join us for a powerful conversation with John Feal, author of I Will Follow You Anywhere: The True Story of the 9/11 Responders Who Took On Congress. Best known for his tireless advocacy on behalf of 9/11 responders, Feal will share the remarkable story of how personal loss, perseverance, and an unwavering commitment to others helped change lives and influence national policy.

Learn more and register:
https://ow.ly/kYyE50Z9pn2

06/09/2026

We're proud to launch the September 11th Descendants Scholarship Program through the Barasch & McGarry Charitable Foundation.

As we approach the 25th remembrance of September 11th, we are committed not only to honoring those we've lost, but also to supporting the families they left behind.

This year, five graduating high school seniors whose loved ones died from a 9/11-related illness will each receive a $25,000 scholarship to help them pursue their educational goals.

For more than two decades, we have stood alongside the 9/11 community in the fight for justice, healthcare, and compensation. This scholarship program is an opportunity to carry that commitment forward to the next generation.

Importantly, applicants do not need to be current or former clients of Barasch & McGarry to apply. Applications are now open.

Learn more and apply: baraschfoundation.org

Dedicated to honoring the 9/11 community—the first responders, the survivors, and the families whose lives were forever changed by that day.

05/30/2026

On this day, May 30th, we mark a solemn milestone: the 24th anniversary of the official end of the recovery operations at Ground Zero.

On May 30, 2002, the final steel column, draped in an American flag, was removed from the site in an honor guard procession. It concluded more than nine months of tireless, agonizing work by over 100,000 first responders, construction workers, volunteers, and community members who searched the debris day and night.

While the physical recovery operations ended 24 years ago, the true cost of that sacrifice is still being paid today.

Those brave individuals worked through toxic air filled with asbestos, benzene, and heavy metals. Today, tens of thousands of 9/11 responders and survivors are living with (or have tragically been lost to) respiratory illnesses and 69 different types of 9/11-related cancers.

We must never forget that for so many, 9/11 didn’t end on 9/11. The aftermath is still a daily reality.

05/28/2026

Today is the anniversary of FDNY Firefighter Ray Pfeifer’s passing. In this archive footage recorded with Shelli Sonstein in 2021, his wife Caryn tells his story.

Despite being in a wheelchair and battling stage 4 cancer, Ray made trip after trip to Washington, D.C. with Jon Stewart and John Feal to advocate for free healthcare and compensation for those suffering from 9/11-related illnesses.

Caryn shares that Ray never got over the guilt of swapping shifts that day with an FDNY brother who was killed at the World Trade Center, alongside 342 of their peers. For Ray, the mental battle began that morning—and as Caryn says, he was never the same.

05/25/2026

As we pause this Memorial Day to remember and honor those who served and sacrificed for our country, we also reflect on the courage and service of the 9/11 community.

While Memorial Day honors those lost on the battlefield, we never forget those who answered the call here at home at Ground Zero, the Pentagon, and in Shanksville. Thousands of responders, recovery workers, and survivors continue to battle 9/11-related illnesses, and far too many families continue to feel the lasting impact of that day.

Our commitment to this community is deeply personal. Since 2001, we have stood beside those affected by 9/11. Our office, located just two blocks from Ground Zero, experienced the attacks firsthand. Members of our own team have suffered loss, and many of our staff have lost parents to 9/11-related illnesses. For us, this work has never simply been a profession. It is a responsibility rooted in shared experience, remembrance, and service.

As we look ahead to the 25th remembrance of 9/11, we remain committed to advocating for responders, survivors, and their families, while honoring the memory of those we have lost.

This Memorial Day, we remember with gratitude and resolve.

Wishing you a meaningful Memorial Day.

05/21/2026

Our firm was honored to sponsor the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s Steel Across America Tour—both at its launch steps from the World Trade Center site and at its stop this past weekend in Land O’ Lakes, Florida.

Seeing the steel beam recovered from the World Trade Center served as a powerful reminder of the courage, sacrifice, and resilience shown by first responders in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. We will never forget their selfless service.

05/13/2026

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Kiara Badalamente’s family had planned a trip to the Native American Museum in Lower Manhattan. Despite the beautiful weather, her mother woke up and decided the family should stay home so the kids could play outside. Call it luck, call it a sixth sense, call it a mother’s intuition.

While four-year-old Kiara watched a Disney movie, her father, Joe—an NYPD officer who had taken the day off for the family outing—learned of the attacks and immediately drove to his precinct. Had he not been off duty that morning, Kiara knows he likely would have been at the World Trade Center when the towers collapsed.

Joe survived the day but spent the following months working on "the pile." In the years since, he has lost dozens of friends and colleagues to 9/11-related cancers and mental health struggles.

Today, Kiara’s life has come full circle. As an Assistant Manager at Barasch & McGarry, she works just blocks from Ground Zero, managing a team that helps 9/11 survivors and responders navigate the Victim Compensation Fund. The work is deeply personal. She has guided her own father's friends through the claims process and spoken with over a thousand clients whose lives were altered that morning.

Hearing these stories daily has shaped Kiara into who she is today. Working with the 9/11 community has helped her grow into a more compassionate and understanding person, because you truly never know what someone else is going through behind closed doors.

05/12/2026

For 25 years, the families of those we lost on 9/11 have carried unimaginable grief. But thousands more have been lost in the years since from cancers and illnesses caused by the toxic exposure at Ground Zero.

This new seventh moment of silence at the annual 9/11 Memorial ceremony is long overdue.

It recognizes an important truth: the impact of 9/11 did not end on September 11, 2001. It continues every single day for first responders, downtown workers, survivors, and the families still mourning loved ones taken too soon by 9/11-related disease.

For decades, advocates fought to make sure these men and women were never forgotten. This tribute ensures future generations will remember not only those we lost that day, but those we continue to lose because of it.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen. Especially the responders, survivors, and advocates who refused to let this community be overlooked.

We will never stop fighting for the 9/11 community.

The moment will be marked at the conclusion of the reading of the names of those killed that day and will then be a permanent part of the annual ceremony moving forward, the memorial and museum ann…