BOSTON—The American Red Cross of Massachusetts is celebrating the lifesaving acts of incredible people from around Massachusetts at the annual Boston Heroes Breakfast Thursday April 4 at 8 a.m.

The Boston Heroes Breakfast honors heroism in 10 different categories: Blood Services, Community Impact, Emergency Professional, Firefighter, Good Samaritan, Law Enforcement, Military, Nursing, Youth, and new this year, Climate Resilience. These categories reflect various aspects of the Red Cross mission, although volunteering with the Red Cross is not a requirement for nomination.

Hero nominations were solicited statewide, then reviewed by members of the Boston Heroes Council last fall. The Heroes Council, made up of state, local, business and community leaders selected the winners in each category. This year’s Heroes Council is chaired by Eileen Alexopoulos of Blue Cross. This year’s event is chaired by Ron O’Hanley, CEO of State Street. Ron also heads the Red Cross Boston Leadership Council, made of up senior executives and business leaders around Massachusetts who lead fundraising efforts for the event. A complete list of both Heroes Council and Leadership Council members can be found here.

2024 Red Cross Boston Heroes:

Blood Services – Dr. Anbuselvan Dharmarajan, Andover. Dr. Dharmarajan joined the Red Cross in his home country of India and led multiple disaster responses there, including the response to the tsunami of 2005. In Massachusetts, he organizes blood drives and engages youth as volunteers. He also modeled a Red Cross t-shirt in a donor recruitment campaign that generated more than 10,000 blood donation appointments.

Climate Resilience – Susan Baur, East Falmouth. Susan founded the Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage, a group of volunteers (all of whom are in their 60s, 70s and 80s) who dive in ponds across Cape Cod, removing trash and debris that has sunk to the bottom.

Community Impact – Cesar Guerra, Boston. Cesar is the Mobile Operations Manager of the Mass General Brigham Community Care Van. This clinic-on-wheels brings much needed medical care to patients in Greater Boston who often work long hours or do not have the child care or access to transportation that would allow them to visit the doctor’s office for regular check-ups.

Emergency Professional – Mayflower Beach lifeguards, Dennis. Mikey Gray, Tyler Bois, Kam Zaheer and Justin Maykel rescued three separate swimmers who were drowning simultaneously in a high surf advisory. Two of the victims needed CPR and the third, while breathing on her own, was treated on scene by paramedics.

Firefighter – Boston Fire Chief Patrick Murphy was on his way home from a long shift working the July 4 fireworks show on the Esplanade when he passed a two-story home with heavy flames. Witnesses on scene told him there were still people inside. Despite not having his personal protective equipment available, Chief Murphy searched all floors of the burning building, urging several people who were still inside to evacuate immediately.

Good Samaritan – Allison Benkart, Scituate. Allison is CPR certified for her work as a chiropractor, but used those skills at her parents’ home, when her dad woke up with severe chest pain and trouble breathing. Minutes after calling to Allison for help, he passed out. Allison was able to perform chest compressions and have her mom call 911. Peter Benkart was treated for a 90% arterial blockage but survived thanks to Allison.

Law Enforcement – Sgt. Det. John Burrows and Ofc. Awan Freeman, Boston Police Department. Burrows and Awan both worked as medics in the military before joining BPD and have since witnessed hundreds of gunshot or stab wound victims whose lives could have been saved with immediate care prior to first responder arrival. Burrows and Freeman began training fellow officers on controlling life-threatening bleeding by packing wounds and applying tourniquets. Now, they have taken that training to the public, teaching Stop the Bleed courses in community centers and offices around Mattapan and Dorchester.

Military – Brig. Gen. Enoch “Woody” Woodhouse, Boston – Gen. Woodhouse is the oldest living member of the all-Black Tuskegee Airmen fighter pilot unit. He enlisted for WWII on the urging of his mother, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. As a Black man from Roxbury, he faced discrimination and mistreatment throughout his career, but has always been motivated by improving conditions for the next generation.

Nursing – Tina LaTorrella, Winchester – Tina was walking her daughter to school before a shift as an RN at Winchester Hospital when she noticed flames coming from a house. Tina knew the family living in the house had a disabled child. She had her daughter call 911, then ran to the house knocking on doors and making sure everyone got out safely while the fire department responded.

Youth – Lilly Campbell, Brockton – 10-year-old Lilly has watched her older brother Isaiah live with the painful symptoms of sickle cell disease her entire life. She decided to help by making and selling bracelets to raise awareness and funds for sickle cell warriors. Each Better Beads by Lilly bracelet includes two little red beads to signify sickle cell.

The Boston Heroes Breakfast raises money for the Red Cross where it’s needed most, to support the nearly 20,000 people every day who require Red Cross assistance. Here in Massachusetts, that includes the Red Cross Boston Food Pantry, blood collections, our work with military members, their families and veterans, and our disaster response efforts including home fires.

This year’s event is emceed by award-winning NBC Boston anchor and reporter Melody Mendez. Speakers include Red Cross CEO Holly Grant, State Street Chairman and CEO Ron P. O’Hanley, Blue Cross Blue Shield Senior Director of Health Equity Eileen Alexopoulos and Red Cross Board of Directors Chair John Stadtler.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org/MA or CruzRojaAmericana.org. Follow us on social media: Red Cross of Massachusetts on Facebook and LinkedIn, @RedCrossMA on X (formerly Twitter) @AmericanRedCross on Instagram and TikTok.