Founded by former New England Patriots three-time Super Bowl-winning offensive guard Joe Andruzzi and his wife Jen in 2008, the Joe Andruzzi Foundation (JAF) grew out of Joe’s own successful battle with cancer and the couple’s work with young cancer patients.
In 2003, before cancer struck their own family, Joe and Jen founded the C.J. Buckley Pediatric Brain Cancer Research Fund at Boston Children’s Hospital in memory of a young friend – C.J. Buckley – who lost his battle with brain cancer months after meeting the Andruzzis. Over the years, JAF contributed $850,000 to the fund.
In 2007, Joe was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Burkitt’s lymphoma, ending his football career. Joe would go on to beat the disease and remains cancer free today, but a new passion grew from his own battle: helping less-fortunate patients and their families. After witnessing first-hand the stress cancer can cause, Joe and his wife, Jen, created the Joe Andruzzi Foundation to help cancer patients and their families meet life’s day-to-day challenges.
Today, JAF provides financial assistance to patients and families residing in New England, helping them focus on recovery – not bills.