The Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation recently made a donation that is larger than their famous sandwiches. An impressive $152,435 worth of life-saving equipment was awarded to 11 public safety organizations in the tri-state region. To celebrate, the foundation will host three regional dedication ceremonies, where departments will give equipment demonstrations and explain how it will save lives in the community. Through the nonprofit, Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation has given a total of more than $23 million to hometown heroes across the country including Puerto Rico and Canada.
On Oct. 27, local first responders, Firehouse Subs Area Representative Ever Santana, franchisees Steven Velazquez and Ali Karout and Public Safety Foundation Senior Manager of Foundation Programs Jackie Gubbins, attended the event in Levittown that saw the Greenlawn Fire District receive nine automated external defibrillators (AEDs) worth $18,778. The AEDs will help ensure the organization is prepared to provide medical assistance if an individual goes into cardiac arrest.
“Firehouse Subs is eager to support our hometown heroes. Thanks to our customers’ generous donations…we’re able to provide a variety of life-saving equipment, including the AEDs awarded last week,” said Velazquez and Karout in a joint statement. “It’s always an honor to see these donations come full circle in the local community.”
In 2005, the Firehouse Subs founders established the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation with the mission of providing funding, life-saving equipment, and educational opportunities to first-responders and public safety organizations. The chain, which was founded in Florida by former fire-fighting brothers, opened its Levittown location in 2014. The restaurant serves both hot and cold sandwiches as well as a variety of salads and the Levittown loca
tion is decorated with memorabilia from the Levittown Fire Department and other aspects of the community, which pays tribute to past and present heroes of the department.
As for the in-house fundraising initiative, each restaurant recycles leftover, five-gallon pickle buckets, which are available to guests for a $2 donation to the foundation. The Round Up Program allows guests to “round up” their bill to the nearest dollar in the form of a donation, and canisters on register counters collect spare change.
An AED gift was also bestowed upon the Nassau County Police Department-First Precinct, worth $1,300 as a part of the foundation’s 1,000 AED Gift Campaign.
Firehouse Subs is located at 3359 Hempstead Tpke. in Levittown. For more information, call 516-597-4810 or visit www.firehousesubs.com.
