A New Year, and a big goal

 Happy New Year!  I hope this message finds you well and looking forward to 2017 with great hope.

I was reminded this morning via Facebook of a quote I shared 3 years ago, and after a great long training run with friends followed by much needed time spent cleaning and purging closets at home, I am ready to look towards the New Year and my 9th year running to raise funds for innovative cancer research. 

"What grief is, is a form of love, but with the loved one gone.  So the work of grief is to find a new form for that love, to find a new expression for it, a new commitment, a way to honor that love."  -John Woodall

Live Your Dash in Honor of Andrea Carey

Andrea and her friend, Annie, cheering us on!

Some of you  may have seen this already, but I wanted to extend an invitation to you all to the Andrea Carey Memorial 5k and 1 mile walk that is being held on Sunday, April 3 at 10am.

​I had the honor of working with Andrea at Greater Boston Running Co.  She came to the store after retiring from the USPS.  She was not one to sit around in retirement!  She was born and raised in Lynn, and lived her entire life on the north shore.  Andrea was a very accomplished runner having completed multiple marathons around the world, and was a Boston Marathon qualifier.    She was a gifted and entertaining story teller...and boy did she had some doozies to share!  Andrea was incredibly supportive of me and another co-worker last year as we trained for the Boston marathon, offering time, advice and general support!  Last May, Andrea was beginning her training for the Bay State Marathon in October when she started having some pain in her abdomen.  She was quickly diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer, with few treatment options.  Just 7 weeks later, Andrea passed away...on her own terms.  She is very much missed by all who had the opportunity to know her.  In her memory, we have helped to organize a road race in her honor as she was an active member of the local running community.  Proceeds will go to Dana-Farber in Andrea's memory to support clinical research.

The event will take place in Peabody. where Andrea had most recently made her home.  There is a 5k and also a 1-mile walk, along with raffles and post-race celebration at Champions restaurant.  Please consider attending with your family if you have the time on Sunday.  For more information and registration, http://high5em.com/events/andrea-carey-memorial-runwalk/

The race is also called "Live Your Dash" in honor of her favorite poem:

Carry on

You all are a heck of a team!  Thank you so very much for the hundreds of people that supported the "be good. be strong" shirt sale this year.  I'm so proud to be able to carry on the message that Molly, Mary and John shared as they went through their treatment with cancer, and it's such an honor, a humbling one at that, to know their words will be shared from coast to coast through the sale of these shirts.  I also know that the proceeds will be utilized in the best way possible at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, which is what got this started in the first place.

Thank you for helping to make this our most successful campaign to date:

476 shirts sold
$11,370 raised for cancer research
37 states represented (and Japan and the USVI)

Simply awesome.  Grateful.  Inspired.

Be good. Be strong.

Deadline!

Today is the last day to order shirts!  We're getting close to filling in the country!  Be sure to let us know which state you represent so we can color your state GREEN!

Thank you for the unparalleled support of our efforts again this year!  It's a mighty team of friends and family coming together to change the future of cancer!

 
If you haven't ordered yet, please go to www.booster.com/begoodbestrong2016

It's T-Shirt Time

It's t-shirt time again, friends!  We are again selling shirts (cotton and performance fabric) and new this year are hoodies!  There is a wide ranges of sizes and styles so there's something for everyone!  We wear these shirts in honor of our friends and family members who have faced a cancer diagnosis.  This year we chose to incorporate a tree which is often thought to be a symbol of strength (trunk), healing (leaves), and sustenance and livelihood (branches).

Check out the options at:  www.booster.com/begoodbestrong2016

The funds raised from the proceeds of the shirts and any additional gifts will go directly to fund basic cancer research, and as noted by one of the scientists (who is also a runner on the team), "we've learned more about cancer in the last decade than we have in the last century" and our support of this program has been instrumental to that process.  Based on a rigorous and highly selective process, the brightest, most creative scientists are making basic research discoveries that are transforming cancer treatment. These numerous breakthroughs have resulted in improved survival rates and quality of life for thousands of patients everywhere Our support makes a direct difference in these labs! For eight years, I've helped to individually raise over $250,000 so I KNOW our gifts have made an impact.  Thank you for year after year giving as generously as you have. 

As in past year, don't forget to wear your shirt on Marathon Monday (April 18) and post t Facebook or email.  As I wait to start the marathon each year, I have been overwhelmed with emotion at the pictures and messages you all have shared.  It carries me from start to finish, and I am humbled each and every year by such kindness.



With tremendous gratitude and thanks,
Jennie