26° and Sunny
Image
Deb Honor with late Nick Gaspar. The photo was taken in 2022 during their post-walk celebration at La Cantina Winery in Franklin.
Franklin resident, Deb Honor, registered for the Boston Marathon® Jimmy Fund Walk presented by Hyundai to honor her mother who was diagnosed with colon cancer when she was just 12 years old. Unfortunately, Honor’s mother lost her battle with cancer in August of 1986 as the cancer spread throughout her body.
After walking for a few other cancer fundraisers, Honor settled on the Jimmy Fund Walk in 2018 because it encompassed all cancers. She now leads her team, Remission Commission, and the team has been walking ever since. "We decided that we were on a mission to help get everyone into remission! Hence Remission Commission,” Honor explains. "I absolutely LOVE being the team Captain. It is my greatest accomplishment besides my four beautiful children. Rewarding, to say the least!”
Since the team’s inception, the Franklin community has rallied in support. “I have no words that can describe the Franklin Community,” Honor says. "The continuous donations both monetary and support of our team fundraisers has been off the charts!! Franklin is the BEST place to live and I am beyond grateful!”
Honor’s team is matched with Nick Gaspar, a Walk Hero for this year’s Jimmy Fund Walk. Heroes are matched with Jimmy Fund Walk teams to give participants an opportunity to connect with patients. Unfortunately, Nick passed away earlier this year but his memory is still a driving force for the team and community. "I met the Gaspar’s when my daughter, Sally, was in Kindergarten at the Kennedy Elementary School in Franklin,” Deb explains. "Nick had such a HUGE heart and the strength of an ox!!! He was amazing on the basketball court and the lacrosse field!! Last year at the end of the walk, Nick, his mother Jen and his sister Lillian came back to Franklin and had dinner with our team at La Cantina Winery.
"They had stood at his Poster in Boston for the afternoon," Honor explained. "He sat next to me at dinner and thanked me profusely for all of the fundraising that I did with my team. I could cry thinking about it…all the money in the world, cannot buy your health! I will walk until these legs can’t carry me anymore.”
Honor’s team has made a huge impact in the Franklin community. The team is planning on walking virtually this year around the town and will end their walk at a local winery. Elizabeth’s Bagels will be donating bagels and coffee for breakfast, King Street Cafe will be donating bagged lunches for individual walkers, and The Rome Restaurant will be donating Italian dinner. To top it all off, Strawberry Sweetcakes will be donating cupcakes for the team with every cancer ribbon represented.
“To me, The Jimmy Fund Walk means that I am making strides toward a cure for cancer, One Step At A Time,” Honor writes. "The Jimmy Fund Walk has become an extension of my family! There is nothing better than having a giving heart.” The 2023 Jimmy Fund Walk will take place on Sunday, October 1, and raises funds to support all forms of adult and pediatric patient care and cancer research at the nation’s premier cancer center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Whether participating for themselves, loved ones, neighbors, or co-workers, each walker shares a common purpose: to defy cancer and support breakthroughs that will benefit cancer patients around the world. Participants have the flexibility to choose from four distance options: 5K walk (from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Longwood Medical campus), 10K walk (from Newton), Half Marathon walk (from Wellesley) or Marathon walk (from Hopkinton). Walkers can also participate virtually by “walking their way” from wherever they are most comfortable—whether that be in their neighborhood, on a favorite hiking trail, or on a treadmill at home. The Jimmy Fund Walk has raised more than $167 million for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in its 34-year history.
The 2023 Walk will be held during the Jimmy Fund’s 75th anniversary year and will aim to raise $9 million in the effort to prevent, treat, and defy cancer. To register for the Walk (#JimmyFundWalk) or to support a walker, visit www.JimmyFundWalk.org or call (866) 531-9255.
