Thank you for clicking onto this Dana-Farber Fundraising Page!

We are so excited to share our news about the first ever 'Buryton Ball, a Bridgerton-inspired ball at The Coffee Spot in the center of Simsbury, CT. Amy Sheehan, Owner of The Coffee Spot noted, "We wanted to hold this event to celebrate and honor our friend Elise Suchocki who was diagnosed with Stage 3 Ovarian Cancer. She is undergoing an intensive and innovative protocol of chemo at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Her journey has inspired The Coffee Spot team to host this benefit to support the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Claudia Adams Barr Program for Innovative Basic Cancer Research."

I am honored to be a part of this fundraiser with The Coffee Spot! Please join us. If you're coming from out of town, I can arrange a hotel for you.

There will be three tiers of tickets:

• Level 1 ($65 per person)

  • Entrance to the event

  • Croquet on front lawn of The Coffee Spot (weather permitting

  • Ballroom Dancing Lessons

  • Tea and finger sandwiches/pastries

  • Silent Auction

  • Bridgerton Trivia

• Level 2 ($90 per person)

  • Level 1 plus:

  • Wine Tasting (in planning stages)

  • Complimentary Portrait by Melissa J. Richards

• Level 3 ($125 per person)

  • Levels 1 and 2 plus

  • Horse and Carriage Ride

There will be Opportunity Drawings, OnLine Auctions and Silent Auctions. More information will be coming soon!!

2024 Update: Last year with all of your support, together we raised $75,787.04! Thank you so muchy for your support!!

2023 Update: I am so excited to share that I once again registered to ride the PMC from Sturbridge to Province Town on the Cape! I am both honored and humbled to be able to ride while being able to raise money for the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research. I can't thank you enough for your support and encouragement!

Please continue below to read my full story.

2021 Season: Thank so all of you, we raised $58,976.44 !! WOW and Thank you!!

So where do I begin....

I started running in March of 2014. I ran a full mile!! I was so thrilled. I then signed up for my first 5k and ran the whole way....I was so excited..next up 1/2 marathon...success! That left me with one more goal...to run the Boston Marathon! I knew I would not get a qualifying time so I had to do some research. A very close friend of mine recommended that I apply to the Dana-Farber Marathon Team to help raise money for the Claudia Adams Barr Innovative Basic Cancer Research. I did more research. I read. I learned. I questioned. Decision was made. Now I just had to apply...I worked on a fundraising plan. I was so nervous about committing to a $5000.00 donation. I knew I could raise $2,500, and the other $2,500 would be our vacation fund...and I would vacation from Hopkinton to Boston on the 3rd Thursday in April. I hit the submit button with confidence...and I was wait listed. I re-examined my fundraising goal. I thought of some events I could host. I resubmitted with confidence. And...I was waitlisted....again. I then began to feel like a bottle of shampoo. Re-examine, Raise my Goal, Repeat. Then....the weekend right before Thanksgiving, The Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge Team posted a question on Facebook that was something like, What are you wishing for this Holiday Season? Clearly my response was To be a member of the DFMC Team. That night I received an email stating that I was on the Team, and I would get further details tomorrow. I was OVER THE MOON. I did it!! I got myself a spot on an amazing team to raise money for an incredible cause...and as a bonus I will be running the Boston Marathon in 2015!!

Now the real work began...I had to start fundraising and I had to keep training. Reaching and re-reaching and re-reaching again (almost like the toothpaste example again) I contacted, called, emailed, texted, everyone with whom I've ever had contact. To make an incredible story short, my first year on the DFMC Team, I raised over $31,000. I then ran a freezing cold, windy, rainy, where I'm sure it was snowing in on the Newton Hills Marathon and got an Official Time! Insert OVER THE MOON again!

At the finish line, I was escorted by an incredible DFMC volunteer who brought be directly to the Marriott to meet up with the team and my family. Jan Ross (Assistant Vice President, Running Programs) greeted me with a warm hug and whispered in my ear, Wait until you do this next year when it's warm and sunny. as she escorted me for a quick minute up an escalator which I almost tripped on, to see my family, I thought quietly to myself as I was shivering and turning blue, Not in a million years. I'm a one and done kind of girl. Jan then brought me down to the DFMC Recovery Zone (Maybe that's where I lost my balance on the escalator?) I was put on a massage table, wrapped in warm towels and totally stretched out. Perfect ending to a perfect day. It was 48 hours later, when I got out of my warm bed at home and told my family, I am definitely going to apply next year. How could I not do this to keep helping and fundraising for DFMC! They all said they knew I would, but were surprised it took me so long to make the decision.

I will quickly summarize the next few years. In 2016, I was matched with an incredible Patient Partner, Maddie Carlson who has since become an incredible friend. After she won her battle with cancer, she took on the world. Check out this video that Maddie created. She's the beautiful teen with the pink hat. https://youtu.be/4QE-yTWSWgI . I am so proud of Maddie who graduated from Emmanuel College May 2021!

I continued to share the DFMC mission and my personal message and I continued to fundraise and I continued to run.

In 2018, when I ran the London Marathon for DFMC, I ran in memory of Tatyana Abrams. She was an amazing teenage artist who lost her battle to cancer in 2016. With support from her family, we took a piece of her artwork and had it printed on a pair of socks. We ordered 60 pairs of TatySocks and they sold out over night! From that moment, TatySocks was established. TatySocks is now a 501c3 and has donated over $20,000 to Dana-Farber. Please take a minute and check out TatySocks at www.tatysocks.com.

One of the most interesting things I learned about myself was that I truly love fundraising more than running! But that didn't stop me. I kept running. I completed five of the six World Major Marathons (Boston, NY, Chicago, Berlin and London) ALL to raise money for Dana-Farber. (I was scheduled to run Tokyo 2020, but COVID had different plans for me.) My knees decided my running career was over. But I knew my fundraising career would never end.

I did the only normal thing I could think to do...I started riding a bike. I signed up for the Dana-Farber Pan Mass Challenge 2021. I have restricted my funds to go directly to DFMC to continue to support the Claudia Adams Barr Innovative Basic Cancer Research.

Now, in 2021, hundreds of Dana-Farber runners will take to the streets to participate in the 125th Boston Marathon®. The Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team runs and raises funds with thousands of special people in mind. From Hopkinton to Boston, we carry thoughts of those people every step of the way. (and I'll be riding my bike from Sturbridge to PTown!)

One hundred percent of every dollar raised by the DFMC team supports the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. These funds are fueling some of today's most promising basic cancer research.

I'm truly excited to share that since 2015, with your support, we have raised over $250,000 for Claudia Adams Barr Innovative Basic Cancer Research. Thank you.

Thank you for your support! Together, we're headed toward the ultimate finish line: a world without cancer.