Jolly Jump Blog

Alison Joy Light

Alison Joy Light is a precocious and sassy 3-year-old girl. She has a pizzazz for life. She enjoys playing with her big brother Sam, arts and crafts, swimming and singing at the top of her lungs. She has always been an independent and determined girl.

On September 2, 2014, the Light Family's world was turned upside down, however. In a moments notice, they were told that their precious baby girl had cancer that had started on her tailbone and had metastasized to her liver, lungs, and lymph nodes.

While the tumor burden was significant, they knew that there was treatment and a cure for this type of pediatric cancer. Ali would face four cycles of chemotherapy and then a surgery.

Dora Lessard

Dora Lessard is currently battling Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer.

She was originally diagnosed in 2006. She was able to sufficiently fight the disease until this past July, which is when she was notified that it had returned, and it was then given the stage 4 classification.

Dora's husband Chris, a firefighter and part of the Mass. Fallen Heroes, stands by her side every step of the way. Dora and Chris have a 6-year-old daughter.

Bryan Woodford (far-right), the terrycloth back of his pink flamingo robe turned to the camera, counts his jolly gang of jumpers readying to plunge into the frigid Atlantic Ocean, off of Rexhame Beach, in Marshfield, Mass., on New Year's Day 2014. And I believe that's Big Joe in the Bat-ground.

The Jolly Jump experienced a number of firsts this year.

It's been our goal for a while now—a decade, in fact—to reach the $10,000-mark. Well yesterday, on the 10th anniversary of the Jolly Jump, we raised $10,074.50!

We had initially tallied a number a little shy of this milestone, back at the Marshfield Tavern, but we did not take into account the tenacity of our Jolly Jump community! Thanks to some added support for Laura Kelly, Marco Gulinello, Josh Russell, Dan Torpey, Big Joe Simonson, and Connor Fraser (who pulled in an astounding $300 post-Jump) we ascended into the next level of charities that raise funds for the American Cancer Society and families affected by this disease.

We celebrated our 10th anniversary taking the plunge. Check out the Jolly Jump Hall of Fame to see who's taken down Top Dog this past decade.

We also witnessed the first jumper ever to achieve Triple Top Dog status, in Dan McDonagh, who beat out his own personal best and set a new Jolly Jump fundraising record, reeling in a total of $1,657.50 for the 2014 Jolly Jump. He beat his own record of $1,590, set back in '07.

On December 23, 2013, the world lost a hero.

Sergeant Daniel M. Vasselian, 27, of Abington, was killed in action during his third combat tour of duty. Sgt. Vasselian served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, since his 2006 enlistment in the Marine Corps.

He will be missed greatly by many family and friends.

“Words will never express what he was to me. I've loved him my entire life. My brother, my best friend and my whole heart… thank you for being you,” sister Jeannine Vasselian wrote on her Facebook page.

Read more in the Boston Globe.

Estelle Martinez

Estelle Martinez is a normal, silly, 2-year-old girl and loves playing around with her younger brother Jack. She loves princesses and was recently nicknamed Princess Warrior Estelle by her family because of her strong will and resilience, even after enduring her first week of chemo treatments.

Estelle was recently diagnosed with an atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT), which is is the rarest and deadliest form of childhood cancer. She currently lives in Texas, but is seeking treatment at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, in Boston, Mass.

Paul Lyons

At 47, Paul Lyons was diagnosed with Stage 4 Brain Cancer, with a frontal lobe glioblastoma tumor, in July 2011. He went into emergency surgery immediately following the diagnosis, at Tufts Medical Center, in Boston. Surgeons removed much of the tumor, but could not safely get it all. The tumor was too deep into his brain and would have left him paralyzed for life.

He went through six weeks of aggressive radiation, five days a week at Tufts. Following radiation, he was put on chemotherapy indefinitely, undergoing MRI brain scans every three months. He returned to Home Depot in Rockland to work two days a week. Then in the beginning of 2013 they took him off of chemo. On his 49th birthday he was told the tumor had grown back and had a second surgery in May.

His current treatment since May has been IV Chemo every 2 weeks in Quincy and MRI’s every two months in Boston. He is on many different kinds of medication, including seizure meds due to the current tumor.

He can no longer work or drive a car. He's receiving skilled nursing, physical therapy, and social services at home to follow his care. Nephew Jake Poulin and his family have been very supportive of Uncle Paul, driving him to all of his appointments. Now with Paul not being able to work, he has no income. His family has been pitching in, with food, love and everything else needed to live.

He is a beautiful human being and a great uncle loved by all. We believe Paul will somehow conquer cancer, return to work, and lead a healthy life once again.

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Unfortunately, since this post, Paul passed away on Jan. 3, 2014, just two days after the Jump. His family is asking, in lieu of flowers, to donate to Deb & Jackie's Jolly Jump. We can do this. We can conquer cancer…

Donate today.

2013 Top Dog
Jenn O'Brien

Congratulations to this year's Top Dog, Jenn O'Brien

Jenn raised $1,139, earning a little more than half of this online via jollyjump.org! Great job, Jenn.

She was a young, professional, independent woman on a mission. Perhaps she had tapped into her very own version of the Beyoncé-famed Sasha Fierce. Now she's like one of those celebrities who only go by their first name. Move over, Oprah. Out of the way, Ellen. Meet Jennifer.

We knew something was up when Jenn had people donating, back in October. Woody, we may have to institute the Early Bird Award.

Speaking of awards, Rookie of the Year goes to Laura Kelly, who was also a force to be reckoned in her on- and offline fundraising. Not counting this year's Top Dog or The Woodfords themselves, Laura came in thirdplace online, behind Eddie Devin and Greg Anderson.