Making Strides Together: The 2011 Jimmy Fund Walk

Two weeks ago, while the rest of the sane world continued its Sunday morning slumber, I awoke to an ungodly 6:30 am alarm, and a task even more daunting than scraping myself out of bed: 13.1 miles on foot as part of the 23^rd Annual Jimmy Fund Walk.   
 
The Jimmy Fund Walk began in 1989 as a fundraising event for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.  In collaboration with the Boston Athletic Association, the walk is divided into four routes (3 miles, 5 miles, 13.1 miles, and for all the marbles, 26.2 miles), all of which trace the path of the (in)famous Boston Marathon. 

BC girls walking for Kulke’s Krewe: (from left to right) Amy Hick, Ria McMahon, Emily Sheridan, Kathryn Saphire, Alex Lorditch, Christine Ramsey, Morgan Dove, Marie McGrath, Thais Menedez, Maggie Scollan

We were greeted at Babson College, the start of the 13.1 mile trek, by a sea of color and hustle and bustle of pre-walk preparations.   Streams of yellow Walkers, blue Pace Setters, and red Volunteers pulsated through the parking lot, while our own clan of avocado green assembled its masses in the center. 
 
Kulke’s Krewe, led for the second year by Robert Ramsey, was easily one of the most distinguished teams at the event.  Marked by our signature pale-green t-shirts, we numbered over sixty-five participants, ranging from BC students, to the Trinity College baseball team, to doctors and patients from Dana Farber, and friends and family of the Ramsey family.  We gathered in honor of Anne Ramsey, who lost her battle to gastrointestinal cancer this August.  We duly celebrated her doctor, Dr. Matthew Kulke, and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, which has continued to provide loving, quality care and unparalleled treatments for over sixty years.

All of Kulke’s Krewe

As we embarked on our trek down Commonwealth Ave, I was in awe.  Nearly every participant I saw had adorned his or her own shirt with names, mantras, and photos: tributes to those they had lost and recognition for whom they were fighting.  A sandwich board at every half-mile increment informed us of strides made by the cancer institute, and reminded us, through the faces and quotes of cancer victims, why we were walking. 
 
By the time we reached the final, never-ending two miles, the morning chill had long since succumbed to the sun’s rays, and our growling stomachs firmly attested to the ground we had covered.   Even after four hours of tireless walking, talking, sharing, learning, and laughing, I approached the finish line with a bewildering influx of energy.  The very proximity of the finish line, tantalizingly close and joyous in its post-walk festivities, so far overshadowed the hold of previous obstacles, that my morning fatigue and abandoned bed were all but forgotten.  As we crossed (danced, really) across the finish line into the euphoric celebration of some 8,500 participants, I knew.  I knew it would some day be possible to make the final strides in the battle against cancer, and damn, what a celebration that will be. 
 
About Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund
Since the 1940s, the Dana Farber Cancer Institute has pioneered the field of cancer research, treatment, and prevention.  It was recognized by the National Cancer Institute, among only forty others, as a Comprehensive Cancer Center, and it is also one of only twenty centers designated for AIDS research in the United States.  In its starting years, Dana Farber helped prove the effects of chemotherapy as a treatment, and more recently, the institute has led the way in new drug and pharmaceutical advances. 
 
About the Jimmy Fund
In 1948, members of the Boston Braves baseball team visited the hospital bed of “Jimmy,” a twelve-year-old cancer patient of Dr. Farber’s, and a devoted Braves fan.  The interaction between Jimmy and his childhood heroes was broadcast through a local radio station, garnering national attention, and generating $200,000 in contributions by the program’s end.  Later that year, the Jimmy Fund was founded in collaboration with Dana Farber and the Variety Club of New England to support cancer research and treatment in both children and adults.  Since its inauguration, the Jimmy Fund has raised over  $73 million, and has inspired over 585 annual fundraising events.  It has since become the official charity of the Boston Red Socks, Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, and the Variety Children’s Charity of New England.
 
The 2011 Jimmy Fund Walk will continue to accept donations until November 1^st 2011.  Through the generous support of family, friends, and community members, Kulke’s Krewe is currently the third highest fundraising team, with $95,000 already collected in Anne’s honor.  If you would like to help achieve our goal of eliminating cancer, and supporting the incredible doctors, researchers, caregivers and patients at Dana Farber, please consider making a donation to the Jimmy Fund Walk or to Kulke’s Krewe.  For more information, visit the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.