Dear Friends, Supporters and many TEAM LILLYLULU Teammates,
On behalf of my family, TEAM LILLYLULU and JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), I would like to thank you for helping to make 2016 an amazing year in terms of creating awareness and raising money for advancing treatments and finding a cure for Type One Diabetes (“T1D”).
My oldest daughter, Lilly (14), was diagnosed with T1D on April 9, 2015. As we promised we would, our family jumped in head first to make an impact. We created TEAM LILLYLULU as our JDRF Team for the One Walk on October 2015 (our first event) which consisted of the Lashar, Varholak, and Frank ladies, Briggs Rowley (T1D-14) and me.
Since that 2015 One Walk, TEAM LILLYLULU has grown and now consists of an amazing group of family, friends, classmates, field hockey and lacrosse teammates, strangers, co-workers, new friends, clients, fisherman and some crazy endurance people that have supported us like nothing we could have ever imagined. We are now a walk team, a marathon team (NYC, Boston and Chicago), a Reach the Beach team, East School team, a Gala team and a fishing team (Varholak, St. Pierre, Platt and Mitchell). My Transwestern teammates have been the backbone of my effort and have supported this cause with amazing generosity.
Through our collective efforts, we have been integral in over $500,000 of funds raised for JDRF in a short period of time. At the heart of this momentum is the truly unique experience of being designated as the exclusive charity for the 2016 Big Game Battle (“BGB”) Invitational Fishing Tournament in Nantucket held August 11-13, 2016. This tournament raised a record of over $350,000 for JDRF. During the event, Lilly delivered two moving speeches and we presented Kevin White with the inaugural BGB “Lilly Lashar Pay It Forward Award” which is
PRESENTED TO THE PERSON OR TEAM THAT BEST REPRESENTS SELFLESSNESS, COMPASSION, SUPPORT AND LEADERSHIP OF OTHERS’ AGENDA BY GIVING MORE THAN THEY TAKE WITH GRACE, CLASS AND HUMILITY.
We are forever grateful for the opportunity and support the BGB Tournament Committee, supporters and participants provided us last year. In keeping with its great tradition, the designated charity for the BGB changes each year allowing for other deserving groups to benefit from the exposure the tournament provides. This leads me to wonder…..”How do we replicate last year’s effort and impact in 2017 and beyond?” It will not be easy, but we are determined.
Lilly inspires our family by doing her part to fight through every single day. What has Lilly done in the face of her T1D diagnosis? She is a great friend, hard-working student, member of Hingham and Laxachussetts lacrosse, member of HHS freshman field hockey team, Hingham’s 2016 Project 351 Ambassador and 2017 Alumni Designee, 2015-2016 HMS Willett & Burke School Citizenship Award winner, chosen member of the Boston Children’s Hospital T1D Teen Advisory Counsel, T1D Children’s Congress applicant, JDRF fundraiser, captain of TEAM LILLYLULU and most important, she is my hero and inspiration. She is doing her part and then some. If asked, she will tell you that living with T1D is “not so bad”, but the grind of living in three hour increments takes its toll. At times, it’s brutal to witness. In the face of this grind, it is our mission to do everything we can as a family toward finding a cure for Lilly, all those diagnosed with the disease, and those that will be in the future.
So, after significant family deliberation, in 2017 we will champion “Dad’s 100 Mile Trek” --- a 100 mile solo-walk, by Lilly’s Dad (i.e. me!) of the span of Cape Cod from the Sagamore Bridge in Bourne to Provincetown. There is an undercurrent from a few of my buddies to name this “Lash’s Dash” but I do not see the “dashing” in front of me! Truth be told, I have never walked 5 miles, never mind 100 miles, but can think of no better way to honor the strength and determination of those living with T1D every day.
This event will be TEAM LILLYLULU’s signature contribution to JDRF in 2017, and our primary focus for raising funds and awareness for T1D.
My walk will start at the Sagamore Bridge at sunrise on June 28, 2017 and will end when I reach the town pier in Provincetown with at least 100 miles under my feet.
The following link
http://bit.ly/TrektoEndT1D brings you directly to the JDRF Dad’s 100 Mile Trek fundraising page and includes information on Sponsorship opportunities. A MAP of the trek route including anticipated “PIT STOPS” is included below. While I will be doing this walk solo, I hope to see your faces and hear your support at my various stops along the way. As our family has learned throughout this process, it is the support of those around you that keeps you moving forward.
The site also contains additional information on donating offline as well as more information on JDRF. You can also follow TEAM LILLYLULU and JDRF on Instagram.
In anticipation of swollen sore feet, tired legs and smiling faces, and on behalf of Debi, Lilly, Lucy, Lindsay and the rest of our TEAM LILLYLULU teammates, I want to thank you for your continued support of our mission of T1DNONE.
Here is to one foot in front of the other!!!!
Regards,
John Lashar
“ADVERSITY DOESN’T DEFINE CHARACTER, IT REVEALS IT” -James Lane Allen
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