By Judith Dorato O’Gara

On Sunday, October 5th, 59 residents from Franklin will participate in the 2025 Jimmy Fund Walk presented by Hyundai.

Pamela Vickery, Kellie Bobola, Colleen Devereaux, Barbara Scardino, Thomas Lynch, Peter Sullivan, Anne Calligan, Brock Leiendecker, Chidvilasini Garimella, Harriet Rauffenbart, and 49 other Franklin residents, along with thousands of other walkers, will participate in the iconic annual event that will unite the community to raise funds to support all forms of adult and pediatric care and research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The Jimmy Fund Walk aims to raise $9.5 million this year to prevent, treat, and defy cancer.

Franklin resident Mark Lewis will participate for his third year as a Jimmy Fund Walk Hero. Walk Heroes are Dana-Farber patients who provide inspiration and motivation to walkers along the course. Heroes are matched with Jimmy Fund Walk teams who walk in their honor. He walks (as much as he’s able) with his match team, The Rak Pack. 

“Your money is not going for naught,” says Lewis, “Research works, and that’s why I’m still here.” Lewis was diagnosed with Stage IV GI cancer that had metastasized to his liver and given a 10-13-month prognosis in February of 2020, over four and a half years ago.

“The biggest thing for me is they’re able to give me immunotherapy drugs, in conjunction with my chemotherapy, and the immunotherapy drug kind of goes in and stops the blood flow to the tumors, and it keeps them from growing,” says Lewis, who was switched to this drug when the first one doctors tried did not work for him. “Without research they would have never found it. It would have been straight chemo and hope for the best,” says Lewis, who has just finished his 56th cycle of treatment.

“For 36 years, the Jimmy Fund Walk has been a cornerstone of support for lifesaving cancer research and patient care at Dana-Farber,” said Caitlin Fink, vice president of The Jimmy Fund. “Every participant contributes directly to advancing lifesaving research and critically important cancer care. Walk Day is more than just an event—it’s a celebration of hope and the shared commitment of the Jimmy Fund community.”

“People ask why I don’t go to this or that hospital, because I want Dana Farber,” says Lewis, who has himself lost his father and mother-in-law to cancer. “My doctor doesn’t go to any other locations, and we’re 50 minutes away from the best hospital on the planet for it,” he adds. Lewis’ wife of nearly 25 years feels the same way. 

“I love my team, they’re fantastic,” he says “It’s worth it on a high traffic day when it takes an hour and half to get in.” The father of two sons, 16 and 13, credits his treatment with allowing him to “see things I didn’t think I’d be able to see … like my oldest going to high school, playing soccer and making the varsity baseball team as a sophomore. The younger one is now in eighth grade. He’ll go to high school next year, and if everything works out, I’ll still be here for that.”

Mary-Beth Proulx, an oncology nurse at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Milford who is also from Franklin, has walked for the past six years “in memory of my beautiful mother, who lost her battle with breast cancer at the age of 54,” whose “strength, grace, and courage continue to inspire me every day.” The married mother of three children (and one labradoodle named Rosie) also says she walks because she can, for her sister, who has survived cervical cancer, and for her patients who don’t have the strength and whose lives have touched hers. All of these survivors, she says, are her heroes.

The Jimmy Fund Walk takes place along the famed Boston Marathon® course, and participants have the flexibility to choose from four distance options: 5K walk (from Dana-Farber’s Longwood Medical Campus); 10K walk (from Newton); Half Marathon Walk (from Wellesley); and Marathon Walk (from Hopkinton). Walkers who prefer to participate virtually can complete their chosen distance from any location.

All routes will conclude at the Jimmy Fund Walk Finish Line Powered by Schneider Electric at Boston Common, by the corner of Charles and Beacon Street. Finish line activities will include a celebration with food, entertainment, and more.

To register for the Walk (#JimmyFundWalk), volunteer, or to support a walker, visit www.JimmyFundWalk.org or call 866-531-9255. Registrants can enter the promo code NEWS for $5 off the registration fee. All registered walkers will receive a bib, medal, and a Jimmy Fund Walk T-shirt. 

To support Mark’s team, visit https://danafarber.jimmyfund.org/site/TR/JimmyFundWalk/JimmyFundWalk?px=1697148&pg=personal&fr_id=2380.

To support Mary-Beth’s team, visit

https://danafarber.jimmyfund.org/site/
TR?fr_id=2380&pg=
personal&px=1802467 .