In 2015 a $10,000 grant from Kerry Rose Foundation founders Bob and Maryanne Fitzsimons was awarded to the Office of Commuter Student Services and Off-Campus Living. Since that time, hundreds of Stony Brook students have learned how to be safer in their residence thanks to the programs funded by that grant.
Approximately 95% of the money has been used over the past three years to increase awareness of fire safety for students living off campus.
A student practices putting out a fire.
The funds have provided programming, services and resources dedicated to off-campus fire safety awareness:
- 212 Kidde smoke/CO detectors have been made available to our students.
- More than 500 students have taken part in extinguisher/smoke-filled room demonstrations.
- A total of 600 T-shirts displaying Kerry Rose Foundation and “Know 2 Ways Out” were ordered for distribution to the campus community.
- More than 3,000 off-campus fire safety educational materials were distributed to the campus community.
“Educating our students about the importance of prioritizing their safety while living off campus is paramount to our operation,” said Emily Snyder, Associate Director of Commuter Student Services and Off-Campus Living.
The Kerry Rose Foundation was formed in memory of Bob and Maryanne Fitzsimons’ daughter, Marist student Kerry (Rose) Fitzsimons and her two college friends, who died in 2012 in an off-campus house fire.