The Kids Can Only Do So Much, Right?

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I often hear my friends and colleagues lamenting about the younger generation and how they act so “entitled”.  I’m sure you’ve heard this too, how they were coddled as kids, grew up in an environment where “everyone gets a trophy”,etc.  I always disagree with them because I have 3 boys, now in their early 20’s, and they do not act entitled or coddled. But last month I witnessed a high school girls basketball program that not only disproved this notion of entitlement, but blew me away with their generosity and dedication to a cause. I’m talking about the Central Catholic girls freshman, JV and varsity basketball teams in Lawrence, MA.
This group of amazing girls and their families rallied the Central Catholic community of students, coaches, administrators and families and friends to Play4TheCure, a signature program of the National Foundation for Cancer Research. They were playing in honor of Marilyn Joy, mother of last year's captain and teammate, Toni Joy. Marilyn is facing a courageous battle with stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer.  The Joy family has always been a great supporter of Central Catholic High School and the girls basketball program, so the girls stepped up to raise money for cancer research. And did they ever! They called the game “Jump Shots for Joy”, set up an online donation page, sold wristbands, held bake sales, and much more to activate their community. I had the honor of attending their game and got goosebumps watching all in-game activities including donations at the door, a dedication wall, halftime contests, and both varsity teams wearing self-designed Play4TheCure T shirts.


I met so many nice parents who were helping out at the game. And then I had the privilege of meeting the varsity team and their coach before the game. I told them how amazing they were, and how much I appreciated their hard work and commitment to supporting cancer research. They were so polite and attentive, just great kids. 100% of the funds they raised go to cancer research in the laboratory.
So these amazing girls prove that there are dedicated, hard-working, committed, thoughtful young people out there who are giving back and making a difference. Us adults can learn a lot from these girls at Central Catholic because after all, the kids can only do so much. Think of the impact we can have on our children if we invest in the seed funding for cancer research today. Research like the work being done by Dr. Daniel Haber at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Because early seed funding for research today will pay off 10-20 years from now, and help save the lives of our children.
Here’s the punchline. These girls raised $7,080 that goes directly to cancer research in the lab! Thank you so much Central Catholic. Can’t wait to do it again next year. #gratitude

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