In a Marathon of Hope, a Voice rises for a cure

#SingOutForACure #WorkingToMakeCancerHistory

At 61, Andover native and Voices Of Hope member Roger Desjardins will be running his first Boston Marathon on April 16th. He will run to raise funds on behalf of the theatrical fundraising group Voices Of Hope which supports the Termeer Cancer Center at Massachusetts General Hospital. In 2017 Desjardins ran 1000 miles and collected close to $15,000.00 in donations towards cancer research. Earlier this year, he was honored as a "Hero Among Us" by the Boston Celtics at Boston Garden.

Why does he do it? Desjardins explains, "Like many people, cancer has touched my life personally. My sister, Lorraine, is currently fighting lymphoma, my mom, Marie, died this past fall as a result of colon cancer, and my sister, Theresa, has overcome breast cancer—to name just a few reasons why I hate cancer. I have been a member of Voices Of Hope for 4 years. I love the organization, its people and their passion. They have been very successful, having raised over $100,000.00 each year in the last two years alone (for the Termeer Cancer Center). I unfortunately do not have time for rehearsals and performances, but I can, however, find a way to continue raising funds for them through running." Desjardins' goal this year is to run the Boston Marathon and to raise $10,000.00 through donations. Every dollar will help and every dollar raised will go to Mass General Hospital's Termeer Center to fight cancer.

Voices Of Hope was founded in 2009 to raise awareness and funds for research through theatrical performances. Since 2012, VOH has teamed up with the Henri and Belinda Termeer Center for Targeted Therapies at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center.

To date, VOH has donated over $500,000 towards cancer research. "I love Voices Of Hope's passion and will use my running to raise funds to beat cancer any way that I can." Desjardins went on to say, "Please consider sponsoring me to run and raise monies for this great cause." Roger Desjardins' Boston Marathon fundraising page can be found at:
https://www.firstgiving.com/event/voicesofhope/rogers-boston-marathon-2018

Photo: Dave McGillvray (race director of the Boston Marathon) gives Roger a challenge and a Boston Marathon jacket shortly after Desjardins completed his 1,000 mile run in November 2017.
Voices Of Hope online:http://www.voicesofhopeboston.org/
Voices Of Hope on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/voicesofhopeboston/