B+ Events
2008 Diamond State Classic
Again this year, the B+ Foundation was one of the beneficiaries of The Diamond State Classic girls high school basketball tournament held annually in Wilmington, Delaware from Dec. 27th-30th. This year the B+ Foundation paired 8 of the top teams from across the country with 8 local "heroes" currently battling cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. Joe gave an inspirational talk during opening ceremonies and introduced each "hero" as the crowd went wild. The teams brought gifts for their heroes including jerseys and basketballs. It was an emotional meeting for everyone. The News Journal covered the action on the court every day.
The inaugural Andrew McDonough B+ Award was presented to the player on the winning team who most represented Andrew's qualities of positive attitude, desire to have fun, lead both on and off the court. Natalie Stewart of Coeur d'Alene was this year's recipient.
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HAYDEN and CATHERINE McAULEY H.S., Portland, ME
Hayden's mom wrote: "Hayden & his sisters had a blast with the McAuley team! We could not have asked for a better group of girls!! Thank you again for an amazing experience that my family will never forget!"
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PEARCE and ROOSEVELT H.S. from Seattle, WA
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EVAN and CARAVEL ACADEMY from Bear, DE 
Evan's mom said, "Thanks for inviting us to such a special event. Evan has always been our Hero but it's nice to know that he can be a hero to others, as well. The Caravel girls were so incredibly kind to Evan. It really meant a lot to us that you chose Evan to be a "Hero"."
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JOEY and TRINITY H.S. from Camp Hill, PA
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MOLLY and ACADEMY OF THE HOLY CROSS from Kensington, MD
Molly's mom wrote: "Joe introduced all the kids and it was precious to see them all out on the court....Molly was introduced at "measuring in just shy of 4ft...she loves superheroes and baby dolls and scaring the nurses with her monkey puppet Bananas and has been kicking leukemia in the butt since May 28th." Joe's words about the kids and the battles they are fighting were so kind and we were very grateful to be a part of it. The McDonough family has done amazing things for these kids, the hospital and research and it was great to finally meet them all."
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SYDNEY and COEUR D'ALENE H.S., Coeur d'Alene, ID
Sydney brought good luck to her team who won the tournament.
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FELICIA and OREGON CITY H.S. from Oregon City, OR
Tia Embers of Oregon City was the runner up for the B+ Award.
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SAVANNAH and URSULINE ACADEMY, Wilmington, DE
Savannah's mom said, "The Ursuline girls were amazing with her, allowing her to sit on the bench with them, stand center court for the national anthem, and enjoy a pizza party after the opening ceremonies. Savannah was given a bag full of Ursuline gear, including a retired #11 jersey from Elena DelleDonne. Joe McDonough did a marvelous job telling the B+ story & recognizing all the kids and acknowledging them as heroes."
Mon. March 15th
Beware the ides of March (Wm S.)
While most know this as a literary reference, I will always remember the ides of March in 2007 as a very, very dark day. It was on that day that we learned that Andrews eyes were being impacted by the complications of the disease.
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$206,804
On the one hand, it is [...]
Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:24:30 +0000
Fri. March 5th
Its been a little while since my last update. Sometimes, I just dont feel like, or have the strength, to post. Ive given three talks this week and, while part of me LOVES to talk about my Andrew, its pretty draining re-telling our story. Its truly hard to believe the words that come out of [...]
Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:00:40 +0000
Tues. Feb. 23rd
Last Saturday morning, I had the pleasure of spending some time with a very cool young B+ Hero, Reece Adams. Reece is a 6th grader from Marple-Newtown, PA and he has made such great progress. Reece is no longer on the ventilator and he did a great job talking. Reece also recently had surgeries on [...]
Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:49:24 +0000
Fri. Feb. 19th
Ive been checking in (on Caringbridge) on many of our B+ Heroes. Its really exciting when they report a last date of scheduled treatment. Even if the date is a year off, theres a light at the end of the tunnel. Im so inspired by these brave kids and their families.
Speaking of some of our [...]
Fri, 19 Feb 2010 23:31:07 +0000
Thurs. Feb. 11th
Wow&its been an exciting week of weather here in the East. I think we got about 26 inches of snow last weekend and over a foot yesterday! Its kind of nice that things have shut down for a little while.
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Looking for something to warm your heart with all of this snow? Check this out. Sammy [...]
Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:51:17 +0000
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