Our supporters never cease to amaze us. A couple weekends ago, Joe and I had a blast watching Team JAF runners participate in the 7-mile New Balance Falmouth Road Race along with all of the pros. This historic, non-profit race draws 12,000 runners from all over the country and the world, as well as about 75,000 spectators – it’s quite a spectacle!
Race day (August 12) was pretty rainy and everyone was happy to gather at Joe and Patty Kelly’s house for a post-race celebration; the Kelly’s live within walking distance from the finish line and put out a huge spread for our runners and families with chowder, drinks and the works. Their hospitality was beyond generous. And they’ve invited us back again next year; I guess we’ve created a new JAF tradition!
Team JAF raised about $12,800 by race day, which will fund grants for 18 cancer patients (and counting) through our financial assistance program. I want to thank everyone on the team for working so hard to fundraise for us: Shannon O’Brien, Jane Maher, Grace Maher, Gillian Furey, Jana Heffernan, Julie Cashman, Deana DeSilva, Edward O’Brien, Meagan Wheeler, Jack Wheeler and Rebecca McCarthy. They are incredible runners and ambassadors for our organization, and we really appreciate all of the hard work and dedication each put in.
We’re especially impressed with Grace, who’s just 10 years old and ran her first Falmouth Road Race with her mom, Jane. Grace is a good friend of my daughter and ran in honor of hergrandmother, who lost her 7-year cancer battle just a week before the race. Grace did a great job running with the grown-ups and I know her grandma would have been very proud.
I also want to recognize our top fundraiser, Shannon O’Brien, who raised much more than she thought she could!
A HUGE thank you, also, to everyone who donated to our runners. (And, yes, you can still donate to Team JAF until Aug. 31 here.)
The race was just another reminder that none of us are in this alone; many of us have been touched in some way by cancer. But we can come together and help each other get through. As we say “yes” to more patient grant requests this year, I’ll be thinking about the dedicated friends, supporters and volunteers who make writing those checks possible.
Make sure to check out all of our photos on the JAF Facebook page.
–Jen Andruzzi