“Not only is September Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, September is also the month of Tim’s birthday and the month that he passed away,” notes Joanne O’Connell, Timmy’s mother. Joanne, together with her husband Kevin and sons, Brendan, Matthew and Christopher, founded the Foundation in 2008 in honor and memory of Timothy, who died that year from acute myeloid leukemia. Tim died 16 months after he was diagnosed with AML, and just two days after his tenth birthday.
The Foundation has two fundraisers in the early fall. The first one is the sale of Timmy Cakes, two-layer chocolate cakes that were Tim›s favorite! A team of volunteer bakers will bake 275 Timmy Cakes and more volunteers will sell the Timmy Cakes at St. Mary›s Lobby on September 9 and 10 before and during Masses. All are welcome to attend the “bake” sale!
The second fundraiser is Tim’s Trot. The Foundation will hold its seventh annual “Tim’s Trot” on Sunday, October 1, at 3 p.m. at Holliston High School. “It’s a wonderful day. It’s a 3k (1.9 mile) trot—we get runners and we get walkers and we get everything in between,” laughs Joanne. “Everyone gets a t shirt and a goodie bag with a magnet, and other gifts. There›s plenty of water at the event and ice cream from Smitty’s and Sundae School, both of Cape Cod, awaits finishers! Hopefully everyone feels good knowing that every cent of the money we raise as a Foundation goes toward the ultimate goal of easing the burden of childhood cancers.”
Registration is now available online at www.timsteam.org, at “Tim’s Trot” under the “Events” tab. The Registration Fee will be just $20 until September 23. After that date, the Fee goes up to $30. New this year - each bib number will automatically be entered in the Timmy Cake raffle at the Trot! Please be sure to check the Timmy Cake List after the Trot to see if you have won one of seven raffled Timmy Cakes! The Timmy Cakes will be at the Trot to take home that afternoon!
“The community support is tremendous,” says Joanne, “and it hasn’t waned in almost nine years since Timmy has been gone. Everything we do—every event we hold, every fundraiser we put together—is strongly supported by Tim’s friends in Holliston and beyond. The generosity of the sponsors of all of these events, and the level of participation and enthusiasm, is always moving.”
Photos used originally appeared in and are used courtesy of The Holliston Reporter, www.hollistonreporter.com.
Issue Date:
September, 2017
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