May 26, 2006
Trot Nixon heads back to school to thank Rally Against CancerSM winners
Trot Nixon and Anne Marie Larson
With just a few hours until taking the field against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Red Sox right-fielder Trot Nixon went back to school. He visited the number one school to finish in the inaugural Rally Against Cancer.
"This is unbelievable," says 7th grader Anne Marie Larson, who is also getting treated for Burkett's lymphoma at the Jimmy Fund Clinic. "This lets me know that people care."
Furnace Brook Middle School in Marshfield, Mass., raised $12,083 for the Jimmy Fund, the event's second highest total. While only the first place team was supposed to win a visit from Nixon, he felt it was important to thank the students and staff for getting involved in such a worthy cause, so he made the extra trip. "It is important for me to give back and continue what so many ball players have done before me, like Ted Williams," said Nixon. "We need to support the doctors who are working so hard to put a end to this disease."
Almost 1,200 students got to meet Nixon. He answered a dozen of their questions ranging from his job on the field to his involvement with the Jimmy Fund.
More than 360 businesses and schools throughout Red Sox Nation participated in the Rally, ultimately raising $270,000 to help strike out cancer. The town of Sturbridge was the top fundraiser. Nixon will visit them in the near future.
"Our first year of Rally Against Cancer Day exceeded our expectations," says Donna Tyson, assistant director of the Jimmy Fund. "We are thrilled at the tremendous outpouring of support that Red Sox Nation gave to the Jimmy Fund and in their commitment to help fight cancer. "
As a result, the Rally Against Cancer is slated to take place again next year to celebrate opening day at Fenway.
