Every August, the Boston Red Sox, NESN & WEEI team up to break up the non-stop sports cycle to take on a great cause. We’re not talking about taking down the evil empire or pot shots at one another, but rather an opponent that hasn’t been beat yet – cancer.

The result of this team-up is a two-day telethon to benefit the Jimmy Fund, a charity founded in 1948 supporting the fight against cancer in children and adults. While the simple mention of the word telethon conjures up memories of late night reruns and cheesey old men in corduroy suits, this one is for a charity that actually gets it. You’d think that with their partnership with these media giants and the Sox, they would be focused on big donors to hit their $5 million goal (2009 goal)  – and be dead wrong. Earlier in the year, I wrote about a letter that I received from the Jimmy Fund, a hand written on none the less, thanking me for my annual contribution. That is a little personal touch that had me eager to resign my pledge for 2009-10, because they made the personal connection.

Cancer is something that none of us ever want to be diagnosed with. However hearing the kids’ stories pull (here, here & here) at the heart strings a little more. Every dollar counts and it goes a long way to finding a cure and making these kids lives a little less tough. All donations are tax deductible, wouldn’t it be nice to help raise $5 million for cancer research despite this down economy?

CLICK HERE to make a donation.

When I was packing to head to New Hampshire, I saw a Nike commercial that was titled It’s All About You in conjunction with Livestrong. Instead of the staple of Lance Armstrong, the commercial featured snippets of other atheletes who had beat cancer.

One of the interesting stories that I saw in the piece was Jon Lester. Initially, I thought that it was just another simple ad campaign, until I read this story at Fanhouse:

When Jon Lester takes the mound Friday evening in Boston, he’ll not only carry with him his 7-6 record, he’ll also carry a yellow baseball glove to raise awareness for cancer; a disease that knocked Lester down, but not out of baseball three years ago.

Friday will mark Lester’s involvement with Nike and Livestrong to help “raise awareness, fund research and end the stigma about cancer that many survivors face.” Lester will wear his yellow glove for every start at Fenway Park in July.

Pretty cool if you ask me, so without further adieu, here’s the commercial

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX1dboWZ1yk]

Last night when I got home, I recieved a piece of mail that really stood out and really impressed me. It wasn’t a paystub, offer for a chance to win $1M or my credit limit being increased, but rather a hand written thank you note.

On the surface, the note might seem like any other piece of mail, however it was from the Jimmy Fund. The letter, written by a Kim, thanked me for contribution that I made to the charity’s fund raising campaign last year in conjunction with the Red Sox radio telethon.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N65jbWLjUSs]

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