What is the Sneaker Tribute?
Click here to donation and make a tribute to the sneaker wall. Your footprint demonstrates the steps you take to support the patients who most need help.

Who should I donate my sneaker in honor of?
Sneaker donations can be made:

How can I make a donation and be included on the Sneaker Tribute Wall?
If you are registered for Run~Walk, simply raise $10 or more and be eligible to personalize a footprint!
If you aren’t registered for Run~Walk or would prefer to make a donation, click here to complete your order online. Suggested donation amounts are $5 or $10.
If you prefer to donate over the phone please contact the Run-Walk office at (978)287-8765 and we’ll be glad to help you.
 

Today I stand here as a cancer survivor. It has been 20 months since my last treatment, and it's difficult to believe that I have come so far in such a short time.  My journey to wellness took me to places that I never thought I'd have to go, but I was fortunate to have a hospital in my community that offered a cancer center in partners​hip with Mass General without having to go into Boston every day. All of my treatments were at Emerson Hospital, and I got through them with the help of the community and the Run~Walk.

Run~Walk donations made sure that I was in the best possible facility when the tumor was first detected. That place was the Emerson Hospital Breast Imaging Center. Everyone remembers to thank the staff (who really are great), but few think to thank the state-of the-art 3-D Mammography equipment that provides the most accurate images. Once diagnosed, I was one of the last patients to receive chemotherapy in the old infusion suites at the Bethke Cancer Center. I literally watched donation dollars at work as the construction of the new facility took place around me.  A state-of –the-art treatment space was built, designed to provide the best care, in a thoughtful and calming setting.  Throughout my treatment, I benefitted from warmed blankets, massage and acupuncture to ease my discomfort, and educational and emotional resources to support me through my journey.  And, I had the peace of mind in knowing I was in a top notch hospital. My family celebrated my last chemo treatment, but within weeks, I started radiation treatment in a room I called the planetarium.  For 6 and 1/2 weeks, this became my daily routine from 3 - 4 in the afternoon. I depended on being able to drive myself, and I am so grateful that my trip was only minutes from my house. All of these things and so many more are directly due to Run~Walk support.  I am proof that it makes a difference!

I am awed by the support of the community and the enthusiasm of the Run~Walk. I'm so glad I have a chance to say thank you personally. Please know my gratitude will last forever.  

 

My personal cancer journey began more than 40 years ago, when my mother my mother was diagnosed with and ultimately succumbed to this terrible disease. At a young age, I realized the enormous toll that battling cancer takes on the patient … and also the family. Through my involvement at Run~Walk, I am so proud to support the many treatments, therapies and programs that exist today and are available to cancer patients at the MGH Cancer Center at Emerson Hospital-Bethke. I know they would have been invaluable to my mom, had they been available in our Midwest community many years ago. I firmly believe that when communities come together, with events like the Run~Walk, we can make the cancer journey a little easier for our local friends, family and neighbors. For the past 15 years, I have been an active Run~Walk participant (yes, I even walked virtually on a cruise ship one year!) and fundraiser on the Auxiliary’s team, AuxRox. I choose to participate on team AuxRox because the Auxiliary is a founding supporter of Run~Walk and has created an endowment that exists to help future cancer patients at Emerson – and, it is fun! I look forward to this meaningful, energizing and enjoyable event each spring – and, as anyone who knows me will guess, the friendly competition that it brings!

 

As an oncology nurse at Emerson Hospital, most importantly, I walk for our patients. Each and every day they inspire me with their strength, hopefulness and gratitude that makes my “work” a pleasure. Each patient has their own unique story and pathway that lives on in me long after I have treated them. I walk so that each of our patients can have access to quality and innovative care right here in their own community, without having to endure a long commute into Boston while they are sick. I walk to save lives. In my relatively short twelve year career in nursing, I have witnessed so many advances in cancer treatment. New drugs and other therapies are continuously being discovered and deployed in the fight against cancer. Even cancers that were once extremely difficult to treat now have amazing new hope for a cure. I walk so that cancer research can continue and that their discoveries can be offered right here at Emerson Hospital. I walk to help make my patient’s cancer journey more tolerable through the funding of a variety of support services, such as nutrition counseling, social services, reiki and massage therapy, and scalp cooling hair preservation therapy. On a personal level, I walk in memory of my Uncle Bill and my Aunt Irene and many other family members and friends who have lost their battles with cancer. I walk because I can make a difference in the lives of others and so can you. Come walk with us!