Crime & Safety
Community Comes to Aid of Police Dispatcher Battling Illness
Thousands are raised to help pay the medical bills for police dispatcher with brain tumor.
The community has come to the aid of someone who has always come to the aid of the community.
More than $16,000 has been raised so far to help Evan Holtz, a Bridgewater 911 dispatcher who is also a volunteer with the Country Hills Fire Department and the Branchburg Rescue Squad. Holtz was diagnosed earlier this year with a brain tumor.
On the Fourth of July, the Country Hills Fire Department raised $1,100 in a boot drive on Milltown Road to support the Evan Holtz Recovery Fund.
Later on the holiday weekend, a total of $7,271 was raised at the North Branch Fire Department’s picnic on Sunday.
Included in the picnic’s total was $3,160 raised in a silent auction organized by Lisa Marrero.
In addition, the Bradley Gardens Fire Department and the Readington Fire Department raised $4,111.
Other donations have come from Green Knoll Fire Company, Finderne Rescue Squad, Bernards PBA Local 357 and Falcon Safety.
All those donations will be a big help for Holtz, who is in good spirits before he is scheduled to undergo his first surgery on Monday, said Jo-Ann Dunlop, a fellow dispatcher, who has joined with another dispatcher, Brian Sujansky to raise funds to offset the mountain of medical bills facing Holtz.
Dunlop and Sujansky would like to thank Danny’s Catering of Bagelicious in Raritan, CJ’s Party Rentals in Bridgewater and Wegman’s for helping with the picnic.
Holtz is facing a more serious surgery in early August, Dunlop said.
Because the medical bills will continue to mount, “Support Our Hero” bracelets, with Holtz written on them, are continuing to be sold for $3. Those interested in buying a bracelet should email the fund at eholtzfund@gmail.com for details.
Organizers are also just beginning to plan a 5K run to benefit Holtz in October. Anybody interested in participating should email eholtzfund@gmail.com
Checks to support the fund can also be sent to the Bridgewater PBA Local 174 Civic Association c/o Evan Holtz, ATTN: Officer Ziarnowski, PO Box 6664 Bridgewater, NJ 08807. In the memo should be written "Evan Holtz Fund."
