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NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. — The Northborough Daily Voice accepts signed, original letters to the editor. Letters may be emailed to bmatthew@dailyvoice.com.
To the editor,
Year after year, Breast Cancer Awareness month comes, and we wear pink ribbons to show our support of those who have survived and those who have lost their battle with this awful disease. For me, it's more than a ribbon.
In July 2009, I had the privilege of being welcomed into one of the most wonderful group of women I have ever known. This group had walked the year before in the Boston Avon Walk for Breast Cancer as Team LOL.
All were from the same small town in which I live, however, for one reason or another, our paths hadn't previously crossed.
I expressed an interest to one about wanting to do the walk, and she invited me to join them. This changed my life! The work these women put into a fundraising campaign to each raise $1,800 and then to walk 39 miles in an effort to end breast cancer was inspiring to me. And for me to be part of it was a privilege.
My first walk in Boston in May 2010 was eye-opening, inspiring and something I can't fully express in words. My support of my teammates, the Bostonians along the walk route cheering us on, the young kids dressed in pink waving with smiles and the countless families and survivors saying "Thank you!" were all the many things pushing me through the 39 miles!
In 2011, the walk took on even more meaning to our team. One of our teammates was diagnosed with breast cancer just before the walk. She was advised not to take part because she was undergoing treatment, however, she was there every step of the way in our hearts. We all wore a special pin in her honor, and I am happy to report that today, she is cancer free!
Team LOL decided that we wanted to "shake it up a bit" in 2012! We decided to "take to the road" and head to The Big Apple for the NYC Avon Walk! After a full year and a half and much fundraising later, on Oct. 19, we all gathered on a train and headed to NYC! Between Saturday and Sunday, more than 5,000 participants walked 39 miles each, and more than $8 million was raised for breast cancer research.
If you ask any walker, the blisters, sore muscles and overnight in a tent is all worth it when you hear where all the money is going at closing ceremonies and when you hear the many survivors stories.
Team LOL will give our feet a rest and will "crew" the Boston walk in May 2013. With only seven months between the two walks, it gives our fundraising and bodies a chance to recoup. But we will be back walking in Boston in May 2014.
Over the past four years, Team LOL has raised more than $50,000! Every member has her own reason for walking. Each has our own driving force inside, but we are all held together by a common thread, we are all IN IT TO END IT!
Want to keep up with what Team LOL is up to? Join our Facebook page.
Jamie Lasorsa
Operations Manager
Project Jay Fitness
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