Dear Future Teammates,
We invite you to be a part of Jake’s Team!
Jake’s Team was started in memory of our incredible son and brother who not only fought hard but inspired so many with his strength, courage, positive attitude and smile. Jake Silver was 16 when he was first diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in his right leg. After almost 3 years of chemotherapy treatments, radiation, and over 15 procedures and surgeries, it still came back time and time again but he never stopped smiling and never thought he couldn’t beat it. Then on January 8th of this year, the day he was supposed to have his leg amputated, we were told he only had 3-6 months to live. Jake decided then to live out the rest of his life trying to accomplish his bucket list instead of being in the hospital testing a trial drug. Jake passed away on February 22nd, 2 days before his 19th birthday.
Jake made us promise that we would continue to raise money for childhood cancer because he didn’t want another child to have to go through what he went through. We wanted to come up with something that embodied what Jake loved, and what he loved most was being part of a team, thus the name JAKE'S TEAM. The idea is to get teams to raise money because "Great things ... are never done by one person; they're done by a team of people." – Steve Jobs. When the TVL football teams (Hopkinton, Holliston, Ashland, Dover/Sherborn, Medfield, Mills and Medway) came together for the "Fill the Helmet" fundraiser, and the Ashland Hockey team donated the proceeds from a fundraiser at one of their games, we were absolutely amazed. This is how we knew Jake’s Team had to be run.
The money that is raised by Jake’s Team will not only go towards childhood cancer research but also to Silver Siblings and Kim's Cases which will be part of Jake’s Team. Silver Siblings will be volunteers who reach out to the siblings of kids with cancer and make them feel included, special and seen. Jake knew that him having cancer was also hard on his sister Halle, so he and Halle came up with the idea of Silver Siblings while he was in the hospital one day. Kim's Cases is after Kimberley DeSiata who was fighting cancer herself when Jake was first diagnosed, and had told Jake’s Grandmother to get him a satin pillowcase because it won't pull on his hair when he starts to lose it or when it starts to grow back. Jake took his satin pillow everywhere these last three years. So Kim's Cases will donate satin pillowcases to kids fighting cancer.
The kick off to Jake’s Team will be a Kickoff 5K Walk and Dedication on June 22 at 9 a.m. that will end at Ashland High School with the unveiling of a bench by the football field dedicated to Jake and PJ Ferrier, another young man from Ashland lost too young to Osteosarcoma. Jake brought many communities together and that is what we are hoping this walk will do. But Jake was never a walker so going forward, Jake’s Team will do the things that Jake loved. BBQ and corn hole. Our plans are to have Team BBQ competitions and team corn hole tournaments in the future.
We hope we will see you at the kick off walk and we look forward to being teammates with you on Jake’s Team.
Sincerely,
Melissa Duca (Jake’s Mom) and Halle Silver (Jake’s Sister)
For more information or if you would like to help with Jake’s Team or the walk in June please visit www.Team-Jake.com or email JakesTeam@Yahoo.com