Brendan and I are partnered up for another year with Dana-Farber as part of the Boston Marathon team. We are raising money for the Barr Program. This is our 5th year on the team, and we are so excited.
The best and easiest way to donate is to go to the Dana-Farber site or you can copy this link into thttp://www.runDFMC.org/2016/patrick into your browser.
Every day, approximately 36 children are diagnosed with cancer. Pediatric cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease in children and the incidence of invasive cancer in children is up 29% in the last 20 years. Despite the need for progress and resolution, childhood cancer awareness and, thus, financial support has not reached the same national level as other cancer awareness campaigns. Numerous childhood cancer foundations and hospitals work judiciously on treatments and therapies; however, since most organizations work independently, no one umbrella of awareness exists to unite efforts and elevate a rising tide of attentiveness and call to action childhood cancer needs and deserves.
In order to turn the tide and achieve the kind of success necessary to create a wave of optimism for the children and families affected by childhood cancer, a strong, unifying brand is essential for the national market. Gold In September® (G9) will be the catalyst for change. With gold as the national color for childhood cancer and September (the 9th month) as the recognized National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, the G9 Project combines impact with simplicity. A national campaign will raise much-needed awareness by encouraging people to take action. The end result will, ultimately, lead to the development of new childhood cancer therapies and initiatives across the country and bring us closer to cures.
For the past seven years, you have been with me every step of the way for each Boston Marathon, and for that I am truly grateful. Together we have raised money for endeavors that are close to our hearts like Dana-Farber’s Barr program in innovative cancer research. I have one more marathon to run, and I hope you will be a part of it.
We were all affected by last year’s Boston bombings in some way. It was a moment that will live with us for a life time. I was in the finish area when I heard the first explosion in the distance. A few moments later, smoke rose over the crowd, and a second, louder explosion went off, and my concerns of a possible terrorist attack became reality. Immediately, I was concerned for those who were hurt, and I feared that family or friends were among them. Heroes rushed in to save those in need and protected the thousands of people still in possible danger. For the next few hours, I slowly reconnected with my loved ones, finally learning they were safe.
While reflecting on the events of last year, I began to see a parallel between those individuals directly affected by the horrible events of that day and those who first discover their diagnosis of cancer. For patients, there are fears they will not survive. And for families, there is uncertainty that their loved ones will be ok and uncertainty of what the future holds. Our donations support the heroes at Dana-Farber who are rushing to help those battling cancer and searching for ways to prevent it.
I hope you will choose to honor these victims and their loved ones along with the heroes that work with them by donating today to Dana-Farber. The Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge directs 100 percent of funds raised to the Claudia Adams Barr Program in innovative cancer research. You may be able to double your donation though your company’s donation-matching program.
You can make your donations now online at http://www.runDFMC.org/2014/patricko.
I thank you for past support of my fundraising and would appreciate your choosing to support my efforts once again this year.
– Patrick
For more information about the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge go to http://www.rundfmc.org/htmlcontent.asp?cid=116910
Brendan sent me a note about his Christmas tradition bringing cheer to the boys and girls on the
Pediatric Oncology Unit at Dana-Farber. I thought I pass it a long….
Dear Friends and Family,
I hope this email finds you all well and healthy. As most of you know, back in December 30, 2009, I was diagnosed with cancer. After a long 26 months of intense chemotherapy, I finished my treatment protocol at Children’s Hospital in Boston- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute on February 2, 2012.
My treatment was very hard on me physically, and I spent over 40 days inpatient on 6N, the Pediatric Oncology Unit.
As my first year cancerversary approached, I realized I didn’t want to spend it being depressed with what I have had to go through, but to instead celebrate it by bringing gifts to the kids who find themselves inpatient on December 30th. I decided to invite my whole class to my birthday party that year, and had the boys bring me a gift and the girls, (who out-numbered the boys 2-1), bring an iTunes gift card.
That first year, we donated 20 pillow pets and $300.00 in iTunes gift cards to the kids and it has grown from there. Last year with the added help of my teammates on Babson’s baseball team I was able to collect $1,250.00 in iTunes and amazon gift cards, 30 small pillowpets for the kids and hosted an Ice cream party for the kids of 6N and 6W. This year my goal is $2,000.00 in gift cards and 30 small pillowpets.
We are looking into different ways of becoming a 501(c)3, but as of now we are still NOT a tax-deductible organization.
If you would like to help me reach my goal this year, you can either send a gift card or check to: Brendan Barrie 200 Allandale Rd. Chestnut Hill, Ma. 02467 – Please make any checks payable to Brendan Barrie- or you can bring them to me at school.
Please send Amazon or ITunes gift cards in $10.00, $15.00 or $25.00 values as it is easier to group and we like to keep all the gifts at the same value. Please have donations in by December 23, 2013 so I have time to purchase all the gift bags.
Thank you in advance for your generosity.
Best wishes for a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season,
Brendan Barrie and Family
Brendan and some of his PWC team memebers at the Pedal Partner stop.
Tonight’s event was awesome. Over 100 local runners turned out to run as one, in honor of the victims of the Boston Marathon. This was my first “real” run since Marathon Monday. It felt great running again, especially for a cause like this. I think it’s helped all of us feel like we a helping in some small way.
It was supposed to be a day of challenges. A day of personal feats. A day of charity and goodwill. A day of celebration. But what happened that day at the Boston Marathon was absolutely horrific. Innocent lives were taken. Other innocent lives have been changed forever. Heroes emerged. Our city showed its strength. Law enforcement officials did not rest until finding those responsible. And now its our time to take care of the victims and their families. Its our time to get back out and run Boston Strong.
Join us at the Boston Fund Run on the one month anniversary of the tragic events of the marathon for a FREE community 5k run/walk. There will be no registration fees, no swag, no shirts, no timing, no prizes and absolutely no merchandise for sale. We will be collecting voluntary donations for The One Fund Boston. Many of you have already donated in your own way or can’t and that’s okay, we still want you here! If you are unable or do not want to run or walk the course, come on down and volunteer or just hang out. This is as much of a community event as a fundraiser.
The Raynham Lions Club is located at 2234 King Philip St Raynham, MA 02767. Take Exit 13B off of Route 24 onto Route 44W. Follow Route 44W and then take a right at the lights onto Dean Street (next to 99 Restaurant). From Dean Street take a left onto King Philip Street. The Lions Club will be on your right almost immediately.
Parking will be in two locations. The Lions Club parking lot is tight, so please follow the guidance of our volunteers in parking so we may maximize it. Additional parking will be directly across the street at the Senior Center and some will be available in the soccer field lot (there are Raynham youth sports going on simultaneously). Volunteers will be available to direct you, look for the folks in orange.
5:30PM: Registration Opens
6:15PM: Pre-race ceremony
6:30PM: Start
Last night was the Eaton Vance Rooftop Reception. I cannot express how much I look forward to this annual event. Jeff Beale, and Eaton Vance has hosted this valued event for the Dana-Farber leadership council for 13 years. There are many reasons to enjoy attending but the sole reason I go is because of the intimate setting that allows us to meet with some of Dana-Farber’s magnificent doctors, scientist, nurses and directors that dedicate their life to helping those who have cancer and their families. They speak about their projects, research, treatments and most importantly, their patients with such passion. We have the precious opportunity to ask them questions about them and their work. Their answers consistently amaze us.
It is rare to get an opportunity to personally see how your donations make a difference. Many of their programs and research are solely funded by people like you. They are improving the quality of care, saving lives, and continuing the effort to cure and prevent cancer.
Each year 6 exceptional Dana-Farber professional are invited to speak to us. The forum has 8-12 of us at one of six tables, and each of the speaker rotate to the tables. They have 15 minutes to talk and answer questions. The time always seems too short, but you would be amazed how much is discussed in that time. This year’s guest were amazing. Their stories touched our hearts, made us think and be thankful.
David Barbie is an Assistant Professor in Medicine and specialized in Thoracic Oncology. Dr. Barbie researches novel targets for therapy in lung cancer. He spoke about the advances in drug therapy, especially for non-smokers. His discussion on early screening for cancers and the cost of healthcare was insightful. Dr. Barbie describe himself as both a scientist and doctor, which provides a unique perspective in his research.
Kira Bona is an instructor in Pediatrics specializing in Pediatric Hematologic Malignancies. Dr. Bona researches the long-term economic impact of cancer of families of pediatric patients. This is a perspective on how income effects the rate of cancer, the treatment and the continual on going health of the child after treatment. Dr. Bona stated that much of the economic data is not there yet because the information is not collected. They hope to improve this overtime.
Douglas E Brandoff is an instructor in Medicine specializing in Adult Palliative care. Dr. Bandoff directs the Adult Palliative Care Clinic at Dana-Farber. What he does is amazing. It took a few minutes to sink in how important his role is to both the patient and the family. His role is to relieve and prevent the suffering of his patients. It is a job that takes an emotion toll on a person, and we are thankful for people like Dr. Bandoff.
Richard Boyajian is the clinical directory of Dana-Farber’s Survivorship Clinic, where he also serves as a nurse practitioner. Richard Boyajian is also a cancer survivor. He spoke openly about his own experience and the incredible changes in treatment since he was a patient.
Ellen Casey-Magleby is a Program Administrator for Dana-Farber’s Office of Patient and Family Assistance. This program assists patients and their family who are in financial need. The money helps reduce some of the daily living cost while on treatment. These expenses could be transportation, parking or even groceries. Her stories are both heartwarming and heartbreaking at times. This program is completely donor funded.
Nikhil Wagle is an Instructor in Medicine specializing in cancer genomics and personalized medicine. Dr. Wagle researches the susceptibility of cancer cells to chemotherapy. He described the advances in identifying cancers in the human genome. Dr. Wagle discussed the ability to identify these in patients early, by taking a tiny sample from prior treatments and test. Standards in patient protocol will help make testing easier in the future.
You can help people like this to continue making great strides again cancer.
Please donate today at http://www.rundfmc.org/2013/patricko
I wanted to share an article written by Ian Crouch in the New Yorker….
The One Fund and Boston Strong
by Ian Crouch
If you’d fallen asleep for the past month, and had awakened to tune into a recent Boston Red Sox broadcast, you’d likely be surprised to learn that this bunch of Sox are in first place, but would be much more surprised to hear Don Orsillo, the play-by-play guy, read promos for something called the One Fund, established, as he notes during breaks in the action, to “help victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.” Even if you haven’t slept through the last few weeks, the words still sound startling and strange, despite the blanketing coverage.
The blue-and-yellow One Fund logo, designed to look like a race bib, appears all over Boston these days, and is especially noticeable at the end of television commercials for companies like Dunkin’ Donuts and Citizens Bank (both of which have pledged a hundred thousand dollars). As of this week, the One Fund had raised more than twenty-nine million dollars. Roughly eleven million has come from individual donations, while the rest has come from institutional and corporate gifts. This is not to say that these corporate donations are somehow sinister or purely self-promoting. Instead, they are just one marker of how, in the month since the bombing, there has been an alignment of charity, marketing, and commerce—which mostly serves laudable and important ends, but nonetheless is complex and, at times, disconcerting.
There is, for example, the phrase “Boston Strong,” which within hours of the attack had become a rallying cry for the city—a statement of resolution and solidarity in the face of fear and sadness. And, as happens these days with any rousing slogan, it appeared on T-shirts. Ink to the People, based in Milwaukee, worked with two students at Emerson College on a design that has raised more than eight hundred thousand dollars for the One Fund. (The shirts sell for twenty dollars—the company donated production costs on the first fifteen hundred shirts sold, and have given fifteen dollars for each after that.) If clever shirts, and other sleek retail items, motivate people who might not normally give money to donate to the victims, then they have served a noble purpose and achieved practical results. (Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong product line for cancer research did this.)
Yet there is a more efficient act of giving, which would be to send the money directly to the One Fund itself, skipping the middle production costs—as well as avoiding a chance for cashing in by the unscrupulous. On the streets of Boston, vendors hawk “Boston Strong” merch that seems certain to benefit no one but themselves.
The swiftness with which “Boston Strong” went from a comforting phrase to a fashion statement and casual marker of regional identity reveals a certain friction. We want to participate in a common cause, but consumption, as a primary expression of grief and pride, is inadequate. I wore my old Red Sox hat with a little more purpose in the days after the attack, and my instinct to cleave to the team was not unusual. The most common visual manifestation of the slogan “Boston Strong” incorporates the Red Sox “B” logo above the word “strong,” as if the Red Sox organization were sponsoring the city’s attempt to reconcile with terrorism. Which, in a cross-marketing sort of way, it has. The Red Sox, along with Major League Baseball and the Players Association, have donated more than six hundred thousand dollars to the One Fund; hats featuring the logo are on back order at the M.L.B.’s online store.
…to read the rest of the article
Mile 25 Project 