Striking Out Cancer with the Red Sox Foundation and New England Service Scholars

This summer, the Red Sox Foundation held its annual New England Service Scholarships Day, when graduating high school seniors from across New England who have positively impacted their communities are invited to Fenway Park to attend community career panels, receive their $1,000 college scholarship on field, and engage in meaningful service projects.

The service component this year was all about longtime Red Sox core partner, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. The Red Sox and the Jimmy Fund have one of the oldest and most unique, longstanding and visible charitable relationships in the history of professional sports, teaming up since 1953 to support cancer care and research at Dana-Farber.

“This longstanding relationship has allowed us to see firsthand the downright incredible work that Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund are tackling every single day in the fight against cancer,” shares Matt McCarthy, Giving and Partnerships Manager for the Red Sox Foundation, the team charity of the Boston Red Sox.  

Since a key pillar of the Red Sox Foundation is improving community health by supporting youth, families, veterans, and communities in need, this year’s New England Service Scholars tackled three projects aimed at supporting patients and families receiving treatment at Dana-Farber: The first was the creation of goodie bags for “Zoo Week” at Dana-Farber’s Jimmy Fund Clinic, a summer tradition where staff decorate the clinic with a different animal theme each day. The second project was the creation of Young Adult Care Kits to welcome patients and help them pass the time at the newly opened Young Adult Lounge while in treatment. The third project focused on writing notes of encouragement to Dana-Farber patients of all ages.

“Hopefully, these goodie bags, kits, and notes serve as reminders to those who receive them that they are not alone and that they have the support of our Scholars and the rest of Red Sox Nation,” Matt says.  

Over the course of the day, scholars were able to write hundreds of notes and package more than 1,000 goodie bags and kits, all of which were distributed to Dana-Farber patients and their families. When reflecting on their experience, many shared that they were honored to support the work of Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund, and were able to make meaningful connections while completing the service projects. “Everyone has someone in their life who has been impacted by cancer, and the scholars are no exception,” Matt notes. “It was our privilege this year to hopefully brighten up the days of those going through some of the most difficult times in their lives.”

As a lifelong Red Sox fan himself, Matt considers it one of the greatest honors of his career to work for the Red Sox Foundation. “In the simplest terms, Red Sox Nation invests a lot into this team, and it is the Foundation’s responsibility to invest, at that same level, back into the communities we serve,” he shares. As someone that has had family members both receive and provide care at Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund, Matt’s dedication to his job is personal. Looking ahead, he is eager to continue working with the team at Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund to continue making a positive impact in the lives of patients and their families.

For any Massachusetts driver looking for an easy way to support the Red Sox Foundation and the Jimmy Fund, consider ordering a specialty license plate from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles website. Learn more about this process on the Red Sox Foundation’s website.

Support Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund by joining The Dana-Farber Campaign, our ambitious, multi-year fundraising effort to prevent, treat, and defy cancer. The Dana-Farber Campaign will accelerate the Institute’s strategic priorities by supporting revolutionary science, extraordinary care, and exceptional expertise. As a community, we have the power to create a more hopeful, cancer-free future—in Boston and around the world. Together, we can defy cancer at every turn. Learn more about The Dana-Farber Campaign and how you can get involved at DefyCancer.org.