Fund Set Up To Aid Victims' Families Tops $2.6 Million

The Telegram & Gazette newspaper has set up a fund at a local bank to benefit the victims' families.

Merrill Lynch has donated $100,000 to the Firefighters Fund at Flagship Bank, putting the fund at more than $2.6 million as of last night.

Merrill Lynch's is the largest single donation to the fund, which was established Dec. 3 through the Worcester Telegram & Gazette Charitable Foundation. More than $2.35 million has been received by the fund, and another $270,000 in corporate pledges remains to be collected.

Hundreds of employees from the Worcester and Greater Boston Merrill Lynch offices donated about $40,000, a sum matched by the brokerage firm's matching gifts program. Also, more than $20,000 was given by local offices.

"It was clear it was going to be a disastrous happening in Worcester,'' said publisher Bruce Bennett, who saw the flames as he drove home from his office. "It turned out to be disastrous and tragic.''

Donations to the Firefighters Fund can be sent to:

• The Firefighters Fund
  Flagship Bank
  120 Front St.
  Worcester, Mass., 01608
  

Donations can also be made through the Telegram & Gazette's Web site at www.telegram.com or by going directly to their secure server by clicking here

Other Funds

• The Bravest -- WFD Children's Fund
  c/o Newport Federal Savings Bank
  165 E. Main Rd.
  Middletown, RI 02842
  
• Worcester Firefighters and Memorial Fund
  BankBoston N.A.
  100 Front St.
  Worcester, MA 01608
  Attn: Daniel A. Bourgeois
  
• Paul A. Brotherton Memorial Fund
  BankBoston
  596 Southbridge St.
  Auburn, MA 01501
  
• Paul A. Brotherton Fund
  Webster Five Cents Savings Bank
  400 Southbridge St.
  Auburn, MA 01501
  
• Firefighters Family Fund
  Salvation Army
  P.O. Box 16924
  630-640 Main St.
  Worcester, MA 01601
  
• Family of Joseph McGuirk
  (Holden Landmark Corp)
  c/o Commerce Bank
  1057 Main St.
  Holden, MA 01520
  
• The Fireman's Fund
  c/o Jewish Healthcare Center
  629 Salisbury St.
  Worcester, MA 01609
  

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