Published in the April 20, 2016 edition
THE SWEET voices of Sweet Treble, the all-girl a cappella group at Lynnfield High School, entertained the crowd of 250 with their fun and upbeat harmonies at “Music for Molly” Saturday at Calvary Christian Church. (Maureen Doherty Photo)
By MAUREEN DOHERTY
LYNNFIELD — Music for Molly lived up to its billing. Music really does have the power to heal and bring a community together.
Over $8,000 was raised at Saturday’s fundraiser organized by Lynnfield High School senior Katrina Gustafson and a small army of friends, family members and the generous Lynnfield community. These are funds the Malone family will use to put toward the uncovered expenses related to their daughter’s fight against Ewing Sarcoma following her diagnosis in January.
THE GANG’S all here. The Malone family was treated to an afternoon of great music at Saturday’s Music for Molly fundraiser. From left, Nukhet with Emily, 7, and Molly, 15, and Tim with 6-year-old twins Patrick and Audrey. (Courtesy Photo)
The ear–to–ear grin on Molly Malone’s face throughout the concert told the story as she listened to the musical performers in the sanctuary of the Calvary Christian Church surrounded by her friends and extended family.
They were joined by 250 supporters who enjoyed the music, bid on nearly 20 silent auction items, took chances on two dozen raffle baskets, and bought “Fight Like a Girl–Molly’s Fight” t-shirts and bracelets.
In addition to organizing the event, Katrina and her band headlined the show. Featured entertainment also included musical acts from Sweet Treble, the all-girl a cappella singers from LHS; the Bucapellas, the all-boy a cappella group from Bedford High School; and Joe Ramage Acoustic Entertainment, all of whom also volunteered their time and talents.
Sweet Treble won a local charity competition just a week earlier and opened the show with upbeat tunes such as “How to be a Heartbreaker.” They were followed by the Bucappellas whose playlist included one of Molly’s favorites, “One Thing” by One Direction and older classics such as “Stand by Me.”
A mellow set performed by Joe Ramage Acoustic Entertainment, including Ben Harper’s “Steal my Kisses.” Ramage is also a member of Gustafson’s band, Katrina Gustafson Music. The headliners played a 14-song, hour-long set.
They opened with the Beatles’ classic, “Here Comes the Sun,” an appropriate choice as the sun was shining brightly outside after a particularly long winter since Molly’s diagnosis. Plus the Beatles are one of Molly’s favorite bands.
Pop tunes and classics were interspersed with Katrina’s original songs. “Life That’s Good” from the TV show Nashville had a country flair; “Ho Hey” by the Lumineers got the audience responding. “More People Like You” was an original tune she about friendship, which was followed by Miranda Lambert’s “Mama’s Broken Heart.”
KATRINA GUSTAFSON and her band headlined “Music for Molly,” a benefit concert and silent auction she organized on behalf of LHS sophomore Molly Malone who is battling Ewing Sarcoma. Saturday’s event was attended by Molly and 250 family members, friends and supporters. (Maureen Doherty Photo)
Two mellower tunes, “Drops of Jupiter” by Train and the James Taylor classic, “Fire and Rain” were followed by a fun upbeat song, “God Made Girls” by Raelynn.
She worked in a pair of Taylor Swift tunes, “Red,” and “Mean,” noting that “Red” was important to her because it marked the first time she had sung in public at a LHS coffeehouse when she was a freshman. She followed the pair of Swift tunes with two more original songs, “Come On Over,” and “Everyday,” the latter which won her first place in a high school songwriter’s contest sponsored by The River 92.5 independent radio station two years ago.
Katrina’s final lead song was “Do You Love Me?” by Guster. She turned over the lead vocals to bandmate Keith Jacques for their closer with a cover of the Beatles’ classic “Hey Jude,” another one of Molly’s favorite songs. Sweet Treble joined the band on stage as the audience swayed to the music and joined in the refrain.
“Amazing!”
Still beaming after the concert had ended, while her younger sisters and brother played with the bouquets of yellow balloons that had decorated the stage, Molly said the event was “Amazing,” adding, “I’m still in shock!”
JACKIE BOURQUE TEWKSBURY
Executive Board Member
Reid R. Sacco AYA Cancer Alliance
(Maureen Doherty Photo)
“Everyone -– Katrina, Gina -– they have been so good,” the LHS sophomore said, referring to the event’s organizers, Katrina Gustafson and her mom Gina, who were acquaintances of the Malone family years earlier through Girl Scouting.
As the set was being broken down, Katrina said, “I’m so happy everything came together.”
“It definitely taught me about being an adult,” Katrina said of the task of taking an idea to use her musical talents to create a show intended to lift Molly’s spirits and raise funds to defray the costs of mounting medical expenses. It was also an opportunity to call attention to cancers that affect adolescents.
A generous community
Once the community got wind of the event, the contributions kept coming. Calvary Christian Church donated the venue. Lynnfield Girl Scout troops and groups of families and friends created a variety of themed gift baskets for the raffle – nearly two dozen of them. The silent auction grew to 17 valuable items ranging from a private in-home dinner for 10 by professional chef Lou DiBiccari, a vacation get-away to Cape Cod, and a sunset cruise to tickets for a Selena Gomez concert and two Red Sox games as well as professional photography sessions from two talented local photographers, Lauri Priestley of The Priestley’s Fine Art Photography Studio and Kristen Zannella Photography and more.
The DiCorato family of Countryside Deli donated Molly’s Fight – Fight Like A Girl t-shirts; David Silvano donated Molly Strong – Fight Like A Girl bracelets; and Bob Feeney of New England Spring Water Co., Monadnock Spring Water, donated the water sold during the event.
Bob Mitchell of Sacks and Co. created the beautiful blue and yellow “Music for Molly” banners featuring two of Molly’s favorite activities – figure skating and Disney World’s Cinderella’s castle – while his daughter Ashley worked with Molly, her best friend, to create the slideshow of family photos displayed on two large screens beside the stage throughout the show.
Additional donations of goods and services included the emcee talents of Bob Priestley, the Lynnfield Rotary Club, Lynnfield Police Officer Jim Caponigro, brochure printing by Michaelann Herook, director of Lynnfield Community Schools; sound and audio production by Mark Gustafson and videotaping of the event for Molly by James Roumeliotis and the unsung heroes who manned the tables, sold tickets and set up the displays.
A town like no other
Such generosity came as no surprise to either Priestley, the emcee, or the event’s guest speaker, Lynnfield native Jackie Bourque Tewksbury.
“While I do not want to steal any thunder from our guest speaker, I would be remiss if I did not say a couple of words about a dear friend of mine,” Priestley told the audience. “Just a couple of days ago I had the pleasure of listening to Lorraine Sacco, mother of Reid Sacco and the founder of Lynnfield’s infamous Reid’s Ride. She made an inspirational presentation at the Lynnfield Rotary meeting and she not only spoke of the brave battle her son waged against cancer, but also about how the members of this small Lynnfield community have come together to help raise almost $2 million over a 12-year period.”
These funds were used to create the Reid R. Sacco Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Alliance, which opened in 2013.
“Driven by Reid’s inspiration, this Alliance has carried his dream of better treatments and someday a cure for the cancers striking people in his age group,” Priestley said.
“This alliance supports scholarships for those who aspire to excellence in education and research to conquer cancers like the one that took Reid’s life. We’re all confident that these ongoing efforts will ensure young adults like Molly will never need to abandon their dreams of college and a long, happy, healthy life,” he continued.
While Lynnfield has had its share of tragedies over the past decade, Priestley said he was proud of the fact that the Lynnfield community has always come together “by being there to help our neighbor; by cooking a meal or babysitting or fundraising or whatever else the needs happen to be. And rest assured, Molly, that we’re here for you now and will continue to be here for you and your family until one day you can claim victory over your battle.”
After the performers were done, the raffle and silent auction winners announced and the trivia contests were over, Priestley introduced Jackie Bourque Tewksbury as a professional web designer who spends her spare time “helping out worthy causes.”
“She volunteers for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and though she lives in New Hampshire now, she is still very involved in helping Lynnfield causes” such as Lynnfield Townscape and as an executive board member and director of web communications to the Reid R. Sacco AYA Cancer Alliance.
“My involvement with AYA cancer began in 2003 when one of my best friends, Reid Sacco, was diagnosed with sarcoma his senior year of high school. While we lost Reid 11 years ago today, he has been the inspiration behind everything we have accomplished for adolescent and young adult cancers,” she said.
“We’re hoping to go over $2M this year with Reid’s Run,” noting that one run was being held that day in Connecticut with another to follow in Breakheart Reservation May 1 and the signature event, Reid’s Ride, a 28-mile bike ride from Lynnfield to Gloucester, in July.
“The Lynnfield community loves to rally around a great cause,” Bourque Tewksbury said. “When a Pioneer is in need, the community comes together in a great show of strength and support. For that reason, I am so proud that I grew up here.”
As direct result of these grassroots efforts, “the AYA Alliance was able to open the first of its kind clinic for directed care and treatment of AYA cancer patients and survivorship at Tufts Medical Center,” she said.
“In April of 2013, the Reid R. Sacco Adolescent and Young Adult Clinic for Cancer and Blood Diseases opened. We also have an AYA program at Connecticut Children’s Center headed up by Dr. Mike Isakoff, who is a brilliant oncologist that we’re able to support through events like Reid’s Ride,” she added.
They have supported Isakoff since 2006. “He specializes in bone and soft tissue sarcoma. He was a great win for us. His directed efforts toward those types of cancers has allowed us to expand availability of clinical trials in the age group of 15 to 40 year olds.”
She continued, “The numbers speak for themselves. Roughly 70,000 adolescents and young adults ages 15 to 40 are diagnosed with cancer every year, which is nearly three times the number of those diagnosed under the age of 15. The Alliance’s goal is to buy the science behind clinical trials and alternative treatments, whether it’s to expand life expectancy once diagnosed, but ultimately to find a cure for cancer for patients like Molly.”
Since opening the clinic, the Alliance has also worked with survivors of pediatric and AYA cancers, including Rachel Murphy Bates, their education and outreach coordinator who was diagnosed at 25 with Hodgkin Lymphoma.
“She transitioned careers from a travel career into AYA cancer specifically so she could spread the word of AYA cancers and help those diagnosed live better lives,” Bourque Tewksbury said, adding, “When Rachel found out I was speaking at this event, she wanted to send a message to both Molly and all of the supporters who came out to the event today.”
Bates’ note read: “A sense of uncertainty is one of the hardships cancer brings with it. Steady support and encouragement from family and friends, honest communication with your doctors, and staying positive help to counteract that feeling. Based on this event alone, I am certain Molly already has the first component. Molly, know you have the support of all of us here at the Reid R. Sacco Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program at Tufts Medical Center. You are not alone. You have unwillingly joined the AYA Cancer Club, who are characterized by resiliency, strength, and tight bonds.”
Bourque Tewksbury concluded by saying: “It’s so great to see the support from the community. In a time like this, that’s what’s needed and I think Lynnfield does it like no other community I’ve ever seen. Molly, you have hundreds if not thousands of allies standing in your corner ready to fight with you and we at the Alliance promise to continue to fight to defeat AYA cancers with you as well.”
