Sue Falamino and the staff at 101 Mobility® in Marlborough, MA recently gave back to their local community through the 16th Annual Snowflake Kickball Festival.
Each year for the past 16 years, residents of Marlborough, MA get together for a “Kickball Festival” fundraiser where teams compete for a cause. The fund directors, Joe and Kim Otte, identify a different primary beneficiary each year. This year’s beneficiary is Nolan Lane, a local 6-year-old boy. Donations were also given to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute as well as a local family who’s child was born with a deformity.
About Nolan Lane
Nolan Lane was born with a rare liver disease. At age five, he was fortunate enough to receive a life-saving liver transplant. As with many transplants, he had minor complications which resulted in numerous stints in the hospital over the course of the next year. His condition gradually improved as he continued on a path toward “normalcy” until he came down with a virus.
What would be a minor inconvenience resulting a few days out of work or school for most individuals resulted in major complications for Nolan because of the immune suppressants he was taking in the wake of his liver transplant. The virus left Nolan with legions and a large stomach ulcer. Shortly after, he was diagnosed with lymphoma. Fortunately, the lymphoma did not spread to his bones or spine, and his body responded well to treatment.
Nolan recently celebrated his sixth birthday, and his lymphoma is in remission. He is still experiencing some minor health issues and cannot attend Kindergarten yet due to a weakened immune system, but he is a happy, positive boy. Through all of his struggles, he has maintained an amazing outlook on life, and is looking forward to taking karate and going to school.
While Nolan is hopefully “out of the woods” and making progress toward full recovery, his family has undoubtedly accumulated sizable medical bills. The Marlborough community took notice and worked together to help the Lane family – both through a GoFundMe.com page and the annual Snowflake Kickball Festival
About the Snowflake Kickball Festival
This year’s Snowflake Kickball Festival took place on Saturday, February 25th in Marlborough, MA. The Kickball tournament began at 8:30 am with the playing of the National Anthem. It is typically played at Ghiloni Recreational Park on soccer fields, but due to the unseasonably warm weather that melted piles of snow, the fields were too soggy and would have been ruined if played on. Fortunately, organizers were able to secure an alternate location and the tournament was moved to Fore Kicks, an indoor/outdoor sports complex nearby. 16 teams competed in a double elimination tournament lasting most of the day. Once the kickball tournament was complete, team members and area residents came together for a dinner and raffle.
Funds were raised via team participation fees, raffle item donations, and sponsorship packages from area businesses.
Sue Falamino, Customer Care Manager of 101 Mobility® in Marlborough, has been a long-time participant of the annual festival as both a member of the organizational committee and as a member of a kickball team. She played in the kickball tournament once again this year, even playing on the same team as Nolan’s father. 101 Mobility® Marlborough contributed sponsorship to the event.
Supporting the Lane Family
Donations are still coming in, and there will be a ceremony where the final check amount is presented to Nolan and his family on Sunday, March 19th. To date, the donation total is at $12,400 and rising!