Sun. May 6th
Marian Memorial Garden at Salesianum School
Last Tuesday, Ali and I attended the dedication ceremony of the Marian Memorial Garden at Salesianum School. The Garden honors all of the young men who died as students at Salesianum. During the 109 year history of the school, 31 young men have gone to Heaven during their time at the school. The 30th student was Andrew John McDonough.
The grieving process of losing your child in the prime of their life never ends; it’s a continual process. People say “time heals all wounds”. I don’t agree. I think time gives us the opportunity to find ways to cope, to survive. Some days are more difficult than others and some days sneak up on you and crush you like a big wave. I didn’t anticipate how difficult it was going to be at the Marian Memorial Garden dedication. That big wave of sadness just absolutely crushed me. While I was touched that so many people purchased bricks with my son’s name on them, looking down at my son’s name on those bricks and seeing his name on the memorial plaque was just overwhelming. I couldn’t stop crying.
I commend Salesianum School for honoring their brothers who have gone before us at such a young age. It shows a lot of class and shows the true sense of brotherhood and community that exists at the school. One of the mottos of the school is Tenui Nec Dimittam, which means “I will take hold and never let go”. Thank you, Salesianum, for not letting go of those young Salesian Gentlemen who no longer walk the earth. They are not forgotten and they are with us in a different way.
Here is a picture of part of the plaque that lists the names of the 31 young Salesians who died while students.
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21st Annual Gridiron Dinner
Last night, Chris, Ali and I attended the 21st Annual Gridiron Dinner in Wilmington. The Gridiron Dinner raises money for scholarships for journalism students and bestows awards in two other categories as well. The Gridiron has an art award in the name of the late Norman Lockman, a Pulitzer-prize winning local journalist, and a community service award in honor of the late Wilmington Mayor, Tom Maloney. Last year’s Tom Maloney award winners were Congressman Mike Castle and his wife, Jane, in recognition of their decades of contributions to the Delaware community.
With all humility and appreciation, I share with you that the 2012 Tom Maloney award winners announced last evening were Chris, Ali, and me. When we were notified of this honor, all three of us said that, obviously, this award is for the FOUR of us. We were, are, and always will be, a family of four. Andrew’s spirit and the strength that he gives us allows us to soldier on each day.
When the organizers went to have the beautiful award engraved, two amazing things happened. First, when The Trophy Shop found out who was receiving the award, they said that there would be no charge. Secondly, without being asked, they engraved Andrew’s name on the plaque as well as ours. Seeing that may have been the highlight of the night for me.
While not deserving, we greatly appreciate this honor bestowed upon us by the Maloney family and the Selection Committee. It’s not the personal recognition that I desire, but by giving us this award, they gave us a platform to stand before hundreds of influential people and introduce them to our battle against childhood cancer. Hopefully doors will be opened and new B+ ambassadors will be enlisted to join us as we fight to eradicate childhood cancers. And, as an added bonus, the Committee surprised us on stage by presenting The B+ Foundation with a check for $5,000!
Thank you, Gridiron, from Chris, Ali, Andrew, and Joe.
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North Star Elementary Helps Fight Childhood Cancer through Cupcakes
Speaking of B+ ambassadors, we have been so fortunate to have the help of the 5th graders at North Star Elementary School in Wilmington, DE. For the past 3 years, the entire 5th grade raises money and awareness for our battle. Impressively, they usually raise about $3,000! This year, one of the activities that they are doing is a cupcake fundraiser with Sweet & Sassy Cupcakes in Newark. A percentage of all of the cupcakes sold on May 19th & 20th will go to North Star’s total. Please help out the North Star kids – and ultimately The B+ Foundation – by ordering cupcakes in advance or stopping by Sweet & Sassy on Main St on 5/19-20. Please remember to tell them that you’re supporting North Star & B+. There will even be a special B+ cupcake made for that weekend.
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B+ Running Team – The Hamptons Marathon/Half Marathon
We still have spots available on our B+ Running Team. It doesn’t matter where you live in the country. It doesn’t matter if you’ve ever run 13.1 or 26.2 miles before. If you have the heart, we can make it happen. The B+ Foundation will pay for a personal running coach, registration to the race, a 2 night stay in the beautiful Hamptons (right on the ocean), transportation to the Hamptons from wherever you live, a pre-race dinner, B+ running shirt and much more.
What you have to do is run the race. It doesn’t matter if you’re fast or slow. The B+ Running Team is only concerned about beating one thing – childhood cancer!
And, the other thing you do is raise a minimum amount of money. To try to make our team more attractive, we require less than most of the big charity running programs that you may be familiar with. And, you might still think “How can I raise that much money?”. Well, we have plenty of ideas of proven ways to do it. We’re not the first running team, by any stretch. Thousands of people are out there running and raising money for causes. Will you please sign up to join our team?
More information can be found at www.BePositive.org/marathon or by emailing Katie@bepositive.org. Please feel free to share this with everyone you know.
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B+ Heroes 200 Presented by BCKSTGR
B+ Race Week is HERE! The B+ Race Team will be visiting A.I. duPont Hospital this Wed prior to our “B+ Heroes 200 Presented by BCKSTGR” race this weekend in Millville, NJ.
If you’re local, please come out and join us on Wed at NOON at A.I. duPont Hospital. We’re going to have our B+ #45 car on display and we’re going to have a few surprises for some B+ Heroes present. Following our short event (12-12:30) outside, drivers Al Carter & Hugh Plumb will go inside the hospital and visit children fighting cancer. Please come out and join us at noon. Thanks.
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B+ Touch-a-Truck
If you have young kids, we have another option for you. On Sat. May 12th at the Hockessin Police Athletic League, we will be hosting our annual “Touch-a-Truck”. It’s a great event for kids with dozens of trucks and vehicles of all kinds. Like last year, we are excited to report that the Delaware State Police helicopter will be coming back to join us. Join us in Hockessin from 10am-3pm on Saturday!
(P.S. Volunteers are needed — please contact Katie Wilson at katie@bepositive.org )
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Live Like Andrew – MAKE it a great week. It’s up to you.
B+
Ali & Andrew’s Dad