Joe Andruzzi Foundation and Tom Brady Team up With National Grid

Submitted by National Grid

New England football fans have yet another reason to cheer for Tom Brady this fall: local energy provider National Grid has pledged to donate $700 to the Joe Andruzzi Foundation’s (JAF) Patient Touchdown Program every time the star quarterback throws a regular season touchdown pass. National Grid will also match public donations, dollar for dollar up to $75,000, to the Foundation’s “Touchdowns by Tom” campaign.

As part of the partnership, National Grid will also host patient families at each New England home game through 98.5 The Sports Hub Patriots Radio Network and CBS Radio Boston. Benefitting families will be selected by the Joe Andruzzi Foundation and honored before each CBS Radio broadcast. Special public service announcements by Brady, promoting the campaign and urging fans to contribute, will also run during game coverage on 98.5 the Sports Hub and its 37 affiliates.

“Joe and I joined the Patriots around the same time, and he spent many seasons protecting me as we earned three Super Bowl rings together,” Brady said. “Now I have the chance to help Joe protect patients and families from the stress of financial burdens during cancer treatment. This was a no-brainer for me, and thanks to National Grid and CBS Radio, we can make a lot of families a little more comfortable this year.”

The Joe Andruzzi Foundation’s Patient Touchdown Program helps assist patients and families fighting cancer with their everyday household expenses – including rent and mortgages, power bills, car payments and groceries – with one-time $700 grants. The program is specifically designed for families who contact the Foundation directly for assistance, rather than through a JAF-affiliated cancer institution. The “Touchdowns by Tom” campaign aims to help more than 100 families this fall, and one hundred percent of each $700 donation provided by National Grid will reach patients.  

“Throughout my football career, my job was to help move the team forward, yard by yard, down the field. Now, we use that same strategy to make an impact in the lives of people fighting cancer, one family at a time,” said former three-time Super Bowl-winning Patriots player Joe Andruzzi, who co-founded the Joe Andruzzi Foundation after recovering from non-Hodgkin’s Burkitt’s Lymphoma four years ago. “We’re so grateful to Tom, National Grid and CBS Radio for supporting our patients and families during treatment. We know every bit of assistance makes a difference, and we’re happy this spectacular team will help more families through this fun campaign.”

Post-game wrap-ups and a dedicated page on the CBS Boston website will keep fans up-to-date on the total number of touchdowns and money raised. The Joe Andruzzi Foundation will also promote “Touchdowns by Tom” and update its supporters and donors through its website, Facebook  and Twitter feeds.

“We’re honored to partner with the Joe Andruzzi Foundation, Tom Brady and CBS Radio Boston to provide financial assistance for cancer patients and their families,” said Marcy Reed, president, National Grid, Massachusetts. “As a local company with deep roots in our communities, giving back is an imperative. We admire the Foundation’s mission to provide fun activities that take patients’ minds off treatment, even if only for a few hours, and we’re also pleased to work with CBS Radio to help send families to Patriots home games this season.”

At the conclusion of the 2012 regular season, Joe Andruzzi and Tom Brady will meet with representatives of National Grid for a celebratory check presentation and announcement of total funds raised.

Local New England energy provider National Grid prides itself on providing vital energy to millions of customers across the northeastern U.S. and Great Britain in an efficient, reliable and safe manner. It is also committed to building strong and lasting partnerships with business and community leaders, customers, elected officials and nonprofits, and it contributes millions of dollars every year to a wide variety of deserving programs, most notably in energy, education and the environment. This is National Grid’s first partnership effort with the Joe Andruzzi Foundation.

For more information on the Joe Andruzzi Foundation and the “Touchdowns by Tom” campaign, benefitting the JAF Patient Touchdown Program, please visit  http://joeandruzzifoundation.org/wp/touchdownsbytom/

About The Joe Andruzzi Foundation

The Joe Andruzzi Foundation was founded in 2008 to help cancer patients and their families make critical mortgage, rent and utility payments during financially-challenging times, and to fund pediatric brain cancer research. It also provides patients with social and emotional support and acts as a general resource for families. Joe Andruzzi, a former offensive guard with the New England Patriots, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Burkitt’s Lymphoma in 2007 and was treated at Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Disease-free less than a year later, Joe dedicated his life to supporting other cancer patients and funding life-saving research. The Joe Andruzzi Foundation is Joe and his wife Jen’s second philanthropic effort; in 2003, they started the C.J. Buckley Brain Cancer Research Fund at Children’s Hospital Boston in memory of C.J. Buckley, a young man with an inoperable brain tumor who touched their hearts before losing his battle in 2002. The fund supports much-needed, innovative research into the molecular nature of pediatric brain tumors, novel treatment therapies and alternatives to multiple surgeries. The aim is to contribute to the growing knowledge base of available brain cancer cures, making treatment more widely available to all.