Jaskiewicz of The Gotham Org. starts FSU-NYC 9/11 fund

Thanks largely to Gotham Organization's chief operating officer and general counsel Christopher Jaskiewicz, a scholarship to honor victims of the 9/11 attacks was permanently endowed in September, 2007. In 2001 Jaskiewicz was a corporate associate in the New York office of the international law firm Proskauer Rose LLP and president of the FSU Alumni Club of NYC. Under his direction, the club moved into action immediately after the attacks on the World Trade Center to honor victims of the worst attack on the U.S in the nation's history. By September 17, 2001, it established the first scholarship fund to pay tribute to victims of the attack. Known as The FSU-NYC 9/11 Scholarship Fund, it was established to help send relatives of victims and first responders to Florida State University in Tallahassee. Jaskiewicz said, "We were living in Manhattan when the attack happened and we decided that a great way to honor victims would be to send a child or relative to FSU, which is a special place. I will never forget that when we put this idea together, bodies were being counted and smoke was in the air. Thanks to our club leaders, donors, and FSU Boosters, the idea is now a reality." The FSU Seminole Boosters assisted with several fund-raising events, including one in Manhattan where FSU Football Head Coach Bobby Bowden and former FSU quarterback and Heisman award winner Charlie Ward appeared. David Ford, a FSU Board of Trustee member and New York resident also provided a major donation. Proskauer donated hundreds of hours in time to assist the fund achieve 501(c)(3) designation so that contributions are tax deductible. Daonor Chris Diamantis, chairman and CEO of Millennium Settlements, said, "When Chris asked me to contribute, my initial reaction was that this is a great idea that could even be made better by expanding potential recipients to relatives of first responders who did not die - medics, construction workers, and others who worked on the site in the days following the attack. As we have come to learn, these people are suffering. I am proud to contribute to the victims of 9/11 and to FSU for this cause and think the club should be applauded for coming up with the idea and having the wherewithal to get it endowed."