Thousands of people gathered in Boston on Sunday for the 35th annual Jimmy Fund Walk, and Marblehead was well represented.
The Jimmy Fund has been raising money in the Boston area on behalf of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for 75 years. The walk contained four different routes of varying distances as every participant worked toward reaching this year’s collective goal of $9 million.
12 local residents took part on Sunday, four of whom were Rachel Marco and her family. Marco, her two daughters, 4-year-old Annie and 1-year-old Emilia, and her husband, John, walked the 5K in honor of Rachel Marco’s mother, Lorraine Harrington, who died of stage 4 ovarian cancer in 2007.
“It means a lot that we can kind of get closer to not having other people experience what my family had to,” Rachel Marco said.
Rachel Marco’s team worked toward its goal of $3,000. A marketing and communications employee at Dana-Farber, Rachel Marco said that the money raised will help fund research and tests, such as bloodwork tests that the institute is currently working on, to detect ovarian cancer more quickly and effectively.
“It means so much. I know from just working at Dana-Farber how meaningful it is to give back,” Rachel Marco said. “It’s a place that’s changing lives on a daily basis.”
Another notable participant is Police Chief Dennis King, who entered his second year helping Dana-Farber by taking part in the walk. He encouraged everyone to contribute because anyone can be affected by cancer.
“I’ve heard people say that donating to the Jimmy Fund is like putting in a deposit that you never want to have to withdraw. But, if you do, like many of us have, the significance of the advancements in care are incredible,” King said. “And that’s because of the Jimmy Fund.”
Andrea Onufrychuk, Jason Johnson, Rossana Ferrante, Dana Chicoine, Susan Walton, David Leinberry, and Suzanne Iovanna made up the remaining roster of Marbleheaders who gave their time and effort to support cancer research.