The telethon began at 6 a.m. ET on Thursday morning and reached $4,550,786 by the end of the event.
Red Sox manager Terry Francona stopped by with a $5,000 gift and pitcher Tim Wakefield made an undisclosed gift of his own — several of many made so far by local sports stars. Other celebrities — Donald Trump among them — called in to support this amazing cause.
During Thursday night's Red Sox-White Sox game at Fenway Park, the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police have collected over $10,000 in the park alone.
All six New England states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) have been represented by donations, in addition to Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
The last state without a donation was West Virginia, but thanks to a kind soul in the Mountain State, the Jimmy Fund has achieved its goal of receiving donations from all 50 states. There have been viewing parties, as well, being held in many of these fine states.
All in all, the Jimmy Fund has received nearly 7,000 donations on Thursday, over 5,000 of which have been gifts of $100 or less.
The Jimmy Fund was founded in 1948 and has raised over $500 million for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The Boston Red Sox and the Jimmy Fund began their partnership in 1953. It is the longest and broadest marriage between a team and a charity in all of professional sports.
Help fuel that partnership during this annual charity event by hitting a home run against cancer with NESN, WEEI and the Jimmy Fund. Any and all gifts are welcome and very much appreciated.
