Health

Founded in 1993, The O’Toole Family Foundation is a national non-profit organization co-chaired by Terry and Polly O’Toole. Grants are made to non-profit organizations focusing on education, health, hunger and food scarcity, and building better communities through the arts, athletics, and media. Since its inception, the Foundation and its affiliates have made more than $25 million in grants to more than 200 non-profit organizations.

Hospital for Special Surgery

The Foundation has made grants to New York City’s Hospital for Special Surgery, the nation’s oldest and foremost orthopedic research and medical center. The grants support research and advancements in surgical procedures conducted by the hospital’s Spine Institute. Terry is both a past recipient of care and a current member of the hospital’s Board of Trustees, where he is a member of the Executive Committee and serves as co-Chair of the Development Committee. The hospital honored the O’Tooles by naming a reception area after the family.

Polly and Terry O’Toole at the naming ceremony.

New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund

The Foundation provided a grant to the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund, which was organized in 2020 to deliver urgent aid to vulnerable New Jersey communities on the front lines of the Pandemic through support for over 500 nonprofit organizations. Initial aid provided included the critical need areas of food, shelter, and health, and then expanded into funding for programs addressing deeper systemic issues such as childcare accessibility, digital connectivity in schools, mental health counseling, as well as support for people facing eviction. Terry served on the Fund’s board in 2020 and 2021. From inception to its final grant in the summer of 2022, the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund made $65 million in grants.

Community Foodbank of New Jersey

The foundation provides grants to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, the leading anti-hunger and anti-poverty organization in the state, serving over 800 area programs and community partners in 15 of 21 New Jersey counties.

CUMAC

The Foundation assisted in the facilities renovation of this Paterson, New Jersey-based anti-hunger organization that transforms lives through providing emergency food and transforming lives through food justice.

The Sport of Squash

As avid squash players, Terry and Polly’s interest in the sport has led to support of several local and national organizations. The Foundation has donated to City Squash and StreetSquash, two not-for-profits that provide athletic and academic opportunity to economically-disadvantaged youth. Maggie joined the board of CitySquash in 2021. The Foundation has also donated to US Squash, where Terry is a former board member and past Chair of the Finance Committee. Its donations included a grant to support the construction of the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia, the home of squash in the United States.

The Foundation also made a donation to the Pingry School in New Jersey to fund the construction of squash courts. This state-of-the-art facility promotes further development of the sport at the high school level and provides broader benefits of fostering personal and academic achievement. In recognition of their support for the squash program, Polly and Terry O’Toole were honored at Pingry’s 2018 Commencement Exercises with The Cyril and Beatrice Baldwin Pingry Family Citizen of the Year Award.

CitySquash program participants.