The Jimmy Fund

The Jimmy Fund, established in Boston in 1948, is made up of community-based fundraising events and other programs that benefit Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

The Jimmy Fund
Named afterEinar "Jimmy" Gustafson
Formation1948 (1948)
04-2263040[1]
PurposeCancer research and patient care
HeadquartersBrookline, Massachusetts[1]
Chairman
Larry Lucchino
AffiliationsDana–Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Red Sox
Websitewww.jimmyfund.org

The Jimmy Fund is an official charity of the Boston Red Sox, the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, the Pan-Mass Challenge, and the Variety Children's Charity of New England. Since 1948, millions of people have generously given money to help the Jimmy Fund save countless lives and reduce the burden of cancer for patients and families worldwide.

The Jimmy Fund fundraising events include Jimmy Fund Golf, the nation’s oldest and largest charity golf program, and the Boston Marathon® Jimmy Fund Walk, which raises the most money of any single-day walk in the country.

History

Dr. Sidney Farber created the Jimmy Fund to raise money to support Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the cancer hospital he founded in Boston in 1947. On May 22, 1948, “Jimmy,” one of Dr. Farber’s young cancer patients, inspired a movement on Truth or Consequences, a national radio program.

Jimmy was a pseudo name to protect his identity—his real name was Einar Gustafson. Jimmy was visited in the hospital by star players from the Boston Braves. When asked what he wanted most, Jimmy said he wanted a TV so all the kids in the cancer ward could watch his heroes play baseball. Listeners were moved to act when asked to send in money to buy Jimmy a TV. More than $200,000 was raised for the Jimmy Fund that year.

The Jimmy Fund’s baseball origins later evolved into a longstanding partnership with the Boston Red Sox after the Braves moved to Milwaukee in 1953.[2] This is the oldest and among the most successful charity relationship in all of professional sports.

The radio show's host Ralph Edwards and Einar Gustafson had a reunion at Fenway Park 50 years later in 1998.[2]

References
  1. "Contact Us". jimmyfund.org. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  2. Boston Braves team ownership history, SABR (Society for American Baseball Research), Bob LeMoine.
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