The Ray Tye Medical Aid Foundation

The Boston Globe – By Kevin Cullen

The rain was relentless, biblical almost, and you half-expected an ark to pull up outside Congregation Mishkan Tefila in Chestnut Hill. But there could have been an earthquake yesterday, and they still would have shown up, the people whose cars spilled out of the parking lot, all along Hammond Pond Parkway, the people who came to say goodbye to Ray Tye.

Minutes before the memorial service began, a bag lady was outside the synagogue, and she was cursing and smoking and demanding to know what was going on. There was a cop, in his dress uniform doing his best to keep her from making a scene. If Ray Tye were alive, he would have taken the bag lady aside, given her a kind word, slipped her 20 bucks, and sent her off with a “God bless.” Inside Rabbi Jonina Pritzker was saying, “Ray was one of the tzadikim, the righteous,” and, boy, did she get that right.
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The Boston Herald,  By Joe Fitzgerald

The extensive coverage of Ray Tye’s death was not only richly deserved, but richly ironic, too, since he was careful not to exalt himself while funneling millions of dollars to people and causes that touched his heart.

Over the years, on so many occasions, he would call here after reading about someone in distress and quietly arrange to provide urgently needed relief.

Readers never knew he did it, and usually the recipients didn’t know either, because that’s how real charity works; it doesn’t take bows or issue press releases.

Ray, who died last week at 87, made his fortune building United Liquors into a wholesaling empire. He fully understood the joy of giving, but also understood the real reward for doing good was simply to have known he did it.   Doing a column on it would have spoiled it for him . Indeed, sometimes the best stories are the ones you can’t write.

So you didn’t read about the first generation American tycoon who called the Salvation Army every year to ask if its Christmas kettle drive needed his help to reach its goal. And you didn’t read about the sports enthusiast who provided uniforms for the squad of inner-city cheerleaders whose personal lives had been ravaged by dysfunctional adults.  Make no mistake, though self-styled celebrities get most of the attention in this town, there are towering examples of integrity, too, operating in the shadows of the limelight.  More than anyone, Ray Tye personified anonymous generosity.

Those who knew what Ray was like will celebrate his deeds today at his funeral. Faith has many expressions, and the lyrics of an old spiritual would surely be right at home in that synagogue this morning:  If I can help somebody as I pass along … then my living will not be in vain.

Goodbye good friend, and God bless.

Mr. Tye accepts the award

Mr. and Mrs. Tye with Archbishop Sean O'Malley

“During these hard times when so many are forced to rely on the
services of Catholic Charities we see them do so much for so
many regardless of race, religion or age. I hope that tonight we
are all inspired to do our share to make life easier for those who
need relief, direction and comfort.”
- Ray Tye

BOSTON (WBZ) ― The 8-year-old twins boys are happy, sweet and so thankful. Ahmed and Mohammed Ibrahim are in Boston to say thanks to the man who saved their lives.

The boys were conjoined at the head, but then Boston businessman Ray Tye saw their picture in the Boston Globe. “You can’t imagine. You can’t imagine two kids conjoined, destined not to make it…surviving and growing.”

Read the full story here.

WBZTV.com - Jun 17, 2009
by Malika  Marshall, MD

But the Ray Tye Medical Aid Foundation has made it possible for Nadia Al-Azzawi, a mother of three from Baghdad, to get the care she so desperately needed.

BOSTON (WBZ) – An Iraqi mother is looking at her future with new hope thanks to a Boston hospital and a local foundation that helps patients with life-saving care.

Imagine having a life-threatening condition and not being able to get the treatment you need because of your religion or because you can’t afford it.

But the Ray Tye Medical Aid Foundation has made it possible for a mother of three from Baghdad to get the care she so desperately needed.

Fifty-year-old Nadia Al-Azzawi had a defibrillator implanted in her chest at an Iraqi hospital seven years ago. She had it replaced in 2005, but then it became infected.

Dr. Laurence Epstein of Brigham & Women’s Hospital explains, “She went to the hospital because the hospital was a Shiite and she was a Sunni so they wouldn’t take care of her, so she went for months with this implanted. It burst open and device was hanging out of her chest.”

Nadia finally got someone to remove the device. But they left the infected wire leads in her body. The wire slid into a blood vessel and down into the heart. Her family desperately searched for someone to help Nadia but was told they would have to seek medical care in other countries where it would cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Nadia’s husband, Moaiad Al-Juboori, explained, “We see her in pain, we didn’t know what to do.”

Then the family contacted the Ray Tye Medical Foundation, which helps provide medical care for people who can’t afford it.

It arranged to have surgeons at Brigham and Women’s Hospital remove the infected wire and save Nadia’s life.

Nadia’s husband explains, “We can’t express how grateful after because of what we have seen in Baghdad.”

Dr. Epstein says, “This is really exciting, it’s always rewarding to know we made a difference in someone’s life.”

Eileen Tye of the Ray Tye Medical Aid Foundation says, “After seeing this family, it’s a heart- warming, wonderful experience.”

Nadia is still recovering but is expected to leave the hospital next week if all continues to go well.

Ironically, it turns out that Ray Tye, the man who founded this organization, actually had a similar infection and also had to have his defibrillator replaced at Brigham and Women’s last year.

You can read the story from the source here.