Jeff Coombs Fund

The Jeffrey Coombs Memorial Foundation was established to provide assistance to area children, youths, and families, and to help fund enrichment programs within Abington schools. The non-profit, 501C-3 organization is in memory of Jeff Coombs, an Abington father of three who died on September 11, 2001 in the WTC Terrorist Attacks. Since the very informal creation of the Foundation in November of 2001, a dedicated and wonderful group of volunteers has raised more than $1 million through the Annual Jeff Coombs Memorial Road Race, Walk and Family Day and a variety of other fundraisers. Each year our marathon runners raise an excess of $10,000 each to run the Boston Marathon under the Foundation name. Many thanks to John Hancock for including us in their charity marathon program.

Over the years we have assisted families in a variety of ways after they found themselves in suddenly difficult situations because of death or illness in the family. Because of the foundation that honors Jeff’s legacy as a loving father, generous friend and caring individual, families have enjoyed vacations and group outings and received financial help to ease the burden of their current situation. Children have been treated to summer camps and they’ve been granted small “wishes” to help them adapt to the difficult changes in their lives. Parents have been able to provide their children with grief counseling when necessary, and the kind of holidays we all are fortunate enough to give our children, all in the name of Jeff.

The Foundation hosted a Holiday Festival for military families for 9 years, bringing together families of deployed military, families of the fallen, and families of injured service members as a result of their service in post-9/11 conflicts. More than 300 family members annually enjoyed this highly-anticipated event. They were treated to a delicious buffet dinner, games, entertainment, face painting, clowns, back massages, manicures, professional family photos, visits from professional athletes, Santa, crafts, gift bags and gifts.
Local students have also benefitted from the Foundation through numerous grants for Abington public and private schools to enrich the children’s education, and scholarships for graduating seniors and students enrolled in private high school.

The Foundation raises its money primarily through the annual Jeff Coombs Memorial Road Race, Walk and Family Day in September, and through the John Hancock Boston Marathon Charity Program, runners have raised more than $10,000 each. With no paid staff, about 95% of the money raised goes directly toward the grants, scholarships and sponsorship of special programs.