Published in the September 30, 2015 edition
By MAUREEN DOHERTY
EVERETT — It’s back! The Homecoming Hustle 5K fun run/walk to benefit Friends Fighting Breast Cancer (FFBC) will be held this Saturday, Oct. 3 at the Everett Recreation Center, 47 Elm St., Everett. Same-day registration will be accepted at 7:30 a.m. prior to the shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.
All are invited to this annual family-friendly event held in memory of FFBC co-founder Janet Connolly O’Neill, a former assistant principal of the Webster School in Everett, the city where she grew up, and a former School Committee member in North Reading, the town where she and her husband Mike raised their children.
This is a fun run/walk open to runners and walkers of all abilities, and kids are welcome. Prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers in three categories: under 18, 18-50 and over 50. The race day registration fee is $20 for the professionally timed event, with a $5 fee for students. Only cash or checks accepted on race day. Make checks payable to FFBC.
All proceeds from the race directly benefit groundbreaking breast cancer research at Boston’s Mass. General Hospital to fulfill Janet’s dream of grassroots research leading to a world without the scourge of cancer. Founded in 1996, FFBC continues to be an all-volunteer non-profit organization headed by her daughter, Katie O’Neill Britton, who resides in North Reading, with support from members and friends throughout the area, including Lynnfield, Wakefield, North Reading and Melrose.
For more information, send an e-mail to friendsfightingbreastcancer@gmail.com.
As a visionary donor to MGH Boston, FFBC reached $1 million in total donations to breast cancer research in Dec. 2014. In honor of this achievement, FFBC is included on the Visionary Donor Wall, which was built in the hospital’s main entrance to celebrate the 200th anniversary of its founding in 1812. Over 500 nonprofits, like FFBC, as well as foundations, families and philanthropists who support the hospital, are etched into this glass wall. It serves as a reminder to patients that there are people outside the hospital doing their part to eradicate insidious diseases like cancer.
