Reid Sacco Memorial Cancer Research Fund

Jun 19, 2020

Reid Sacco memorial cancer research fund

Turning love and grief into action and results

The Reid Sacco Memorial Cancer Research Fund was established in honor of Reid Sacco, a courageous young man who was diagnosed with Sarcoma just weeks before his high school graduation in 2003. Driven by his dreams for his future and despite eventually losing a lung, a kidney and his right leg to the cancer, Reid fought bravely against the disease that eventually claimed his life in April of 2005. During those two years, Reid and his family learned the tragic reality facing adolescent and young adult cancer patients: there are very few treatment options for them, and there had been no improvement in survival in this age group in more than 25 years.

Shattered by the loss of their beloved son and brother, Reid’s family set out to change the outlook for young people stricken with cancer, and began planning events to both raise funds for medical research and raise awareness about the disparity in cancer progress, treatment options, and clinical research for this age group. Reid’s family partnered with ECCF in setting up a donor-advised fund with the core purpose of supporting scientific and clinical research aimed at finding better treatments – and someday a cure – for the cancers striking adolescents and young adults.

The primary annual fundraiser for the Reid Sacco Memorial Cancer Research Fund is Reid’s Ride, a 28-mile bike-a-thon from Lynnfield to Gloucester held every July.

“An old proverb proclaims that ‘it takes a village to raise a child'”, explains Lorraine Sacco. “That proverb is an appropriate metaphor for what it takes to accomplish important things that benefit us all, particularly those things that touch our young people.  Hard work is certainly part of the equation, but hard work is more effective and rewarding when it is shared and embraced by the community.  Such is the relationship between ECCF and the Reid Sacco Memorial Cancer Research Fund & Reid Sacco Memorial Scholarship Fund.   We work together as a team, and as a community voice, to benefit the lives of our adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer.   For organizations like ours, the relationship provides relief from much of the administrative burden associated with non-profit organizations, allowing us to focus our skills and energy on fund-raising and events like Reid’s Ride. The bottom line is that our relationship with ECCF has helped make Reid’s Ride the success it is today.”

ECCF - Reid Portrait - Stories of Giving
ECCF Logo in White Overlay

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