By Derek Hawkins
It started when Amanda Davis read the headline in the Boston Herald: “Lester tested for cancer.”
The subject was 22-year-old Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester. The Herald reported that during the team’s nine-game trip August 2006, Lester had undergone testing for enlarged lymph nodes, a possible symptom of cancer.
Last September the Red Sox announced that Lester had been diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma, a rare blood cancer.
Davis, a middler communications major and self-proclaimed “die-hard Sox fan,” said the news was too shocking to remain a bystander.
“I was in disbelief,” she said. “He was 22. He was a peer.”
With the help of three friends and fellow Sox fans, Davis co-founded The Lester Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising money for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Lester’s name.
As of last week, almost exactly a year after the project’s inception, Davis and her friends had raised more than $55,000 through the sale of red silicone wristbands that read “No. 62 striking out cancer.” The wristbands cost $6 each and all profits go to the Jimmy Fund, a children’s cancer charity at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
The success of The Lester Project has earned Davis and her colleagues – Christine Yando of Emmanuel College, Kayte Eddy of Fischer College and Casey Lennon of Framingham State College – recognition beyond the walls of Fenway Park.
In addition to receiving support from the Red Sox Foundation and Red Bull, the project has been featured in The Boston Globe, The Hartford Courant and The Seattle Times, and the group has appeared on several TV news stations, including New England Sports Network (NESN) and Fox 25.
“They’ve showed a lot of passion and it’s been wonderful,” said Lisa McEvoy, a spokesperson for the Jimmy Fund. “And they’ve given people a way to know they did something good. They can look down their wrists every day and say, ‘I contributed.'”
On Tuesday, Aug. 14, Lester made his first start at Fenway Park since his diagnosis last year. The Lester Project set up a table at each gate of the stadium and gave wristbands to Red Sox players.
Davis who along with her colleagues was admitted to the game for free, said the game proved the culmination of a year’s worth of work. On that night alone, The Lester Project raised $15,000.
“We could look out into the crowd and see people with red bracelets,” Davis said. “We even saw Tim Wakefield wearing one. I never thought it would get this huge.”
But it only got bigger.
The following Friday, the Red Sox played a double-header against the Anaheim Angels, alongside a telethon for the Jimmy Fund. Again, The Lester Project put a table at every gate and sold bracelets throughout the games.
When the stands emptied at the end of the night, The Lester Project had raised an unprecedented $19,000. Two weeks later, at the end of the summer, the project had netted $55,000.
“Everything went so fast,” Davis said. “I can’t describe how it happened or why we got so much money.”
With Lester back on the field and his cancer in remission, Davis said, after a deep breath, that she has considered letting The Lester Project come to a natural denouement.
“We still have so many bracelets to sell, but we hope to wrap it up by the end of the season,” she said. “Jon wants to move away from cancer and be looked at as a major league pitcher, not just a cancer victim.”
And after Lester pitched a 4-0 shutout against the Baltimore Orioles Friday night, Davis said. Lester seems to be well on his way.
To buy a bracelet or for more information, visit The Lester Project at www.thelesterproject.com or www.myspace.com/thelesterproject.
