WESTFIELD — To continue the effort to raise enough money to help the family of Darren McQuade acquire a specialized van to make it easier to see his extended family and for trips to doctors in Boston, the Police Department recently presented his dad and aunt $8,000. The proceeds come from the department’s annual No Shave November fundraiser, plus $1,000 in individual donations from the community.
“Thank you to every community member who donated or supported this effort. We wish Darren and his family all the very best,” said Police Detective Jared Rowe after presenting the donation to Darren, his aunt Emily McNutt, and his father Steven McQuade.
While the fundraiser is anchored to the annual No Shave November fundraising effort, many of the department’s officers contribute a small portion of each paycheck, year-round. The goal is to collect enough to donate to a worthy cause, individual or family.
This year’s fundraiser was aimed at helping them purchase a handicap-accessible van to make daily life a bit easier for him, Rowe said.
For the officers at the Police Department, Rowe said donating to Darren’s family was an easy choice, especially given the high cost of a wheelchair van, which can run as much as $60,000.
“Getting a van for him will make it easier on his family,” Rowe said.
Growing up in Westfield, Darren, 13, was born with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare condition that primarily affects boys and causes skeletal and heart muscle weakness, which has been a struggle for his extended family.
It became more difficult for his family after Darren broke his leg, which will probably never heal, forcing him into a wheelchair.
Darren’s family moved to Lenox two years ago to be closer to his stepmother Merry McQuade’s family members, who are nurses, but his grandmother Kimberly McNutt, the former owner of Mama Cakes in Westfield, and Charles McNutt live in Clinton, Connecticut. Without a wheelchair accessible van, it is very difficult to take him to his doctors in Boston or visit Connecticut, Rowe said.
Purchasing a $60,000 specialized van is not easy for most families, especially since private health insurance, Medicaid and MassHealth don’t assist with purchasing vehicles.
To help with the purchase, the McNutts and McQuades started a GoFundMe page to get Darren some wheels, which Rowe urged residents to visit and donate to.
As of Wednesday, $13,305 has been donated, but the need is still there.
It was two years ago that the officers tried a unique take on the No Shave November fundraising campaign because many of the department’s officers like having a well-groomed beard, said Rowe.
With that in mind, and with the blessing of Chief Jerome Pitoniak, Capt. Eric Hall developed a set of standards for officers who wanted a beard or moustache, which Rowe said was a real “moral booster” for the force.
In previous years, the officers have donated to the Tunnels to Towers Foundation, the Shriners Hospital in Springfield, Home Base — a mental health service for military veterans and their families — and families in need.
In 2023, the Westfield officers donated to the families of two officers from Bristol, Connecticut, who were shot and killed in an ambush on Oct. 12, 2022.
In 2024, the officers donated to Jailyne Rivera, a dispatcher with the Regional Public Safety Communication Center, who lost her sister and home in a fire in Springfield in October 2023.
