"World Wide Monkey has been looking for a way to reach out and get involved, and now we've done it," says John Sortino, founder and president of World Wide Monkey, Inc. "It's a good feeling to know that our firefighter monkey will not only make a lot of people smile this holiday season, but also will help out the families of firefighters."

Sortino and World Wide Monkey are working with Lt. Gary Brandstetter of the City of Plattsburgh Fire Department to get the special firefighter monkeys out to fire departments across the nation.

Brandstetter approached World Wide Monkey about the possibility of producing a special monkey to honor all American firefighters.

"Firefighters are true heroes," Brandstetter says. "I wanted to do something to commemorate firefighters, as well as raise some money for the families of those who died. The monkeys are a really great reminder of how special firefighters are, and they're perfect. Kids and adults love them."

The firefighter monkeys available from World Wide Monkey wear New York City's familiar FDNY emblem on their shirts and hats. The monkeys can be customized with the initials of any fire department.

World Wide Monkey offers a wide variety of monkeys for any occasion, including birthday, newborn baby, anniversary, Christmas and Hanukah monkeys. The firefighter monkey is one in a series of hero monkeys, which also includes a police monkey, military monkeys from all branches of the service, and Dubya, which honors President George W. Bush. The Dubya monkey was featured on CNN.

Monkey Grams include a personalized, handwritten note and a box of chocolates. Monkey Grams can be ordered by calling: 1-800-858-5101, or from the company's web site at: http://www.worldwidemonkey.net. A picture of the firefighter monkey is on the web.