Treeline Meets “Hero” at Jimmy Fund Walk Match Party

On Saturday, July 17th, Alex and I made our way to Fenway Park. After a fun-filled company outing to Monkey Trunk's (a high rope and zip line park) we were quite tired, our muscles ached and the strong summer sun and heat was sucking up our last bit of energy. To make matters worse we arrived at Fenway Park without our tickets (we were out of the office the day before and hadn't received them in the mail); therefore, we were sent on a wild goose chase around the park asking anyone and everyone where we could find the Jimmy Fund event. Determination outweighed the blank stares, perplexed security guards and crowds of people. We were on a mission to meet "our Hero" (Jimmy Fund Clinic patient) and we weren't going to leave until we did.

Finally, we arrived at Gate B (3^rd time's a charm), talked to the security guard, who talked to an ambassador, who talked to an event planner, who was able to find our point of contact, Danielle, and let her know that two Treeline representatives were waiting at the gate. Five minutes later she arrived at the gate holding two tickets and we made our way to the Players Club.

As we entered the room, the sweltering sun, aching muscles, and "exhaustion" we were complaining about disappeared and we were among young children that had endeared more than Alex and I had experienced in our entire lives. It was then that I realized why they are our "heroes."

Seeing their smiling faces as they ate their pizza, played Wii, and met their sponsors reminded us what truly matters in life. We sat down at our assigned table and met our "hero." Unlike the other "heroes," Mike was much older than the children. He was diagnosed with breast cancer about a year-ago and has been in remission since last November. He was asked to be a "hero" in order to raise awareness about male breast cancer. He talked about how helpful and supportive everyone is at Dana Farber and the great care he has received. He was a pleasure to meet and truly embraced life.

Dana Farber made a video to raise awareness about male breast cancer featuring our Hero, Mike.

For the past three years, Treeline has participated in the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk and the money that we raise directly impacts the lives of our Hero. Everyone on the Treeline team is responsible for collecting donations by November 1^st.