In introducing Mr. Harrington at the ceremony, Evan Radcliffe, chair of the Department of English, stated, “Mr. Harrington has said that ‘raising money for pediatric hospice care ranks right up with earning that championship ring.’ He is the founder of the each one counts foundation, which provides complementary pain management therapies to children who are terminally or chronically ill and who are receiving hospice or palliative care. To quote Mr. Harrington, ‘Every terminally ill youngster counts, and they all deserve to have their pain alleviated in the best way possible.’ Mr. Harrington’s work has several sources: his time with basketball coach Rollie Massimino, who stressed to his players the importance of ‘giving back’ and took them to visit hospitals and schools where they ‘met people who were less fortunate and, in some cases, very ill’; his own experience of almost being on Flight 93, the hijacked flight that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 11, an experience that led him to want, in his words, ‘to do something more meaningful with my life’; his seeing close friends lose their six-year-old to a terminal illness without being able to ease their child’s pain. Since 2007, each one counts has helped many many children and their families.”
Here is the full description of Mr. Harrington from the program for the ceremony:
“Brian Harrington received his BA in English the same year that he was a member of the 1985 NCAA Men’s Basketball Champion team. After graduation, Mr. Harrington spent 15 years in the sports marketing industry before entering the world of philanthropic consulting following the events of September 11, 2001. In 2007, Mr. Harrington established the Each One Counts Foundation. Each One Counts seeks to provide complementary pain management therapies to terminally or chronically ill children receiving hospice or palliative care. Since its founding, Each One Counts has funded more than 25,000 pain management sessions of massage, music, art, hydro and acutonics, as well as distributing more than $750,000 in grants to its pediatric hospice and palliative care partners. In addition to running the charity, Mr. Harrington is Senior Vice President of Institutional Advancement for the Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center, a 137 bed specialty pediatric facility, located in Yonkers, New York.”
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| Dr. Adele Lindenmeyr (Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences), Brian Harrington, Dr. Evan Radcliffe (English department chair) |
