Dover residents receive the 2013 Boston Red Sox Jimmy Fund Award at Fenway Park, the Jimmy Fund's highest honor

Dana-Farber Trustees Eileen and David B. Perini were honored by the Jimmy Fund at Fenway Park on Tuesday, August 27 where they received the 2013 Boston Red Sox Jimmy Fund Award, the Jimmy Fund’s highest honor. The Perinis, who live in Dover, were honored for their family’s decades of support for Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund.

Eileen and David established the David B. Perini, Jr. Quality of Life Clinic for Childhood Cancer Survivors in memory of their son, David, Jr., who lost his battle with Ewing sarcoma at age 26. The clinic provides long-term tailored care and access to clinical, support, and educational resources to help pediatric cancer survivors thrive. They also founded the Perini Family Survivors' Center at Dana-Farber, which includes the David B. Perini, Jr. Quality of Life Clinic and the Stop & Shop Family Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Outcomes Clinic at Dana-Farber.

The Perinis have been long-time participants in the annual Boston Marathon® Jimmy Fund Walk presented by Hyundai and the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC). In the Boston Marathon® Jimmy Fund Walk presented by Hyundai, Eileen captains Team Perini Survivors, which has raised nearly $1.3 million, and was one of the very first Walk teams to be formed. Eileen has cumulatively raised more than $600,000, which is the most of any current walker. In the past 23 years, David has raised more than $189,000 through riding in the PMC, and Team Perini has raised more than $4.5 million for the event.

David’s father, Lou Perini, owned the Boston Braves, which was an original partner of the Jimmy Fund when the organization launched in 1948. When the Braves announced they were leaving Boston in 1953, Lou appealed to Boston Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey to make the Jimmy Fund the charitable partner of the team. The Perini family’s support of the Jimmy Fund has remained steadfast from the beginning.
 
The Boston Red Sox Jimmy Fund Award is given annually by the Red Sox to individuals and organizations that have had a substantial commitment to the life-saving mission of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. The 2013 award was presented on the first night of the 12th annual WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon at Fenway Park. The two-day event featured touching, compelling stories from Dana-Farber patients, doctors and nurses, as well as guest commentary from sports and entertainment celebrities. The event raised more than $3.3 million for adult and pediatric patient care and cancer research at Dana-Farber this year, and a total of more than $34 million in the past 12 years.
 
The award was presented to the Perinis during Fenway Park’s official “Jimmy Fund Month,” which is celebrated at the ball park during the month of August as part of the year-long celebration of the Red Sox and the Jimmy Fund’s historic 60-year partnership - one of the most remarkable partnerships between a team and a charity in the history of professional sports.