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Frederick
McCarthy

Frederick McCarthy leads his family’s altruistic efforts as the head of the McCarthy Family Foundation in West Palm Beach, Florida.

West Palm Beach, Florida

The son of a union plumber and a public school teacher, Frederick McCarthy learned about the value of hard work at a young age. An Eagle Scout and captain of his high school swim team, he was an excellent student while attending Boston Latin School, which led to his acceptance to Harvard University on an academic scholarship. Majoring in physics, Fred McCarthy graduated Magna Cum Laude, achieving this distinction while successfully participating in the college’s Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program. Following graduation, Frederick McCarthy completed Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia. Distinguished as The Honor Graduate upon the completion of his training, he continued to the Army Intelligence School at Fort Holabird in Maryland, where he remained at the top of his class. Leaving the Army with the rank of First Lieutenant, Fred McCarthy gained acceptance to the Harvard Business School. A George F. Baker Scholar and scholarship winner, he received his Master of Business Administration with High Honors, graduating second in a class of 700 students. Following a lengthy career in investment banking and private equity investing, Frederick McCarthy concentrated his focus on charity. Utilizing his ongoing relationships, he is now responsible for the oversight of the McCarthy Family Foundation. Since its establishment in 1988, the nonprofit Foundation has distributed more than $5 million in needed funds to organizations dedicated to improving education for children, health and wellness, medical research, and equal opportunity.


Frederick McCarthy's Schools

Frederick McCarthy's Companies

Frederick McCarthy's Publications

  • Achilles International Participants’ Experiences of Running the 2011 New York City Marathon
    November, 2011
    As the founder of The Frederick W. McCarthy Family Foundation , Frederick McCarthy directs philanthropic efforts that benefit nonprofits such as the Mother Caroline Academy and Education Center, the American Ireland Fund, and Achilles International. Founded by above-the-knee amputee Dick Traum, the latter organization trains and supports people with disabilities in athletic endeavors.

    The Achilles International website at www.achillesinternational.org offers a number of news articles that detail the unique challenges athletes with disabilities face and their remarkable achievements in marathons such as the New York City Marathon.

    A November, 2011 article in the Huffington Post details an endurance-sports enthusiast’s volunteer work serving as a guide in the New York City Marathon. As an able-bodied runner, the author was paired through Achilles International with an athlete who had lost most of his eyesight through macular degeneration. It was only after becoming nearly blind that the athlete had taken up the challenge of becoming a marathon runner.

    The author recounts his experience running alongside his partner, one of 250 marathon participants affiliated with Achilles International, connected by a tether. In addition to runners with eyesight issues, many of the participants were missing limbs, including a number of military veterans who had lost one or both legs. The race went smoothly, and the author and his partner finished the marathon in less than four hours, just three minutes under the author’s personal best. Along the entire course, the pair received vocal cheers of support from onlookers recognizing the distinctive Achilles International logo on their t-shirts.

    Another recent article about a New York City Marathon runner affiliated with Achilles International was featured online as a TIME Lightbox photo essay. The article describes the successful efforts of a man born with the condition hypotonia to complete the 2011 marathon. A birth condition that results in low muscle tone, hypotonia makes activities requiring strength extremely difficult. At first denied registration in the 2011 New York City Marathon, a man from Venezuela with the condition was accepted after joining Achilles International and completing a half marathon in Miami. A team of nearly 30 family members and supporters assembled along the race course, cheering on the dedicated competitor as he successfully finished the full marathon.

    About the Author: Frederick McCarthy has led the West Palm Beach, Florida, based The Frederick W. McCarthy Family Foundation since 1988, overseeing charitable contributions of more than $5 million.