Weston resident continues personal mission to raise funds for cancer research

Carol MacLaury of Weston is once again joining walkers in the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk on Sunday, Oct. 2. Funds raised from the Jimmy Fund Walk support all forms of adult and pediatric patient care and cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

MacLaury walks in honor of her 15-year-old grandson Graham, who was diagnosed with medullablastoma, a pediatric brain tumor, at the age of 10. Graham is now in remission and recently began ninth grade. This will be MacLaury’s fifth event for the Jimmy Fund.

MacLaury has said, “I walk as the sole member of Team #grahamstrong, and I cherish the meditative day it gifts me. … I am eternally grateful to the life Dana-Farber has restored to Graham, and I am a firm believer and lover of science and all its mysteries. As of June 2022, Graham’s scans showed no evidence of disease or recurrence.  … Even though our mountain has not completely vanished, it sits to the side of our lives instead of blocking our path forward.”

This year, participants are able to return to the Boston Marathon course after two years of walking virtually. The event is the only organized walk permitted on the historic Boston Marathon course. Participants can choose from four distance options: 5K, 10K, half marathon or marathon. All routes finish at the Copley Square Finish Line.

MacLaury will be walking the full 26.2-mile marathon in Boston this year after two years walking the back roads of Weston. She has set a fundraising goal of $6,500.00 and is part of team Graham Strong. Click here to support MacLaury.

One can register for the walk or support a walker here or by calling 866-531-9255. All registered walkers will receive a bib, medal and a Jimmy Fund Walk T-shirt.

Over the last 30 years, the Jimmy Fund Walk has raised more than $155 million for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, one of the world’s leading centers of cancer research and treatment.

The Jimmy Fund was established in Boston in 1948 and consists of community-based fundraising events and other programs that solely and directly benefit Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The Jimmy Fund is an official charity of the Boston Red Sox, the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, the Pan-Mass Challenge and the Variety Children’s Charity of New England.