Laura Pierce learned that her son, Blake, 5, had cancer a year ago.
WEST SPRINGFIELD — When Ashley School teacher Sarah Vedovelli runs the Boston Marathon on Monday, she will be running for one of the children in her kindergarten class.
“My teacher is running for me because I am the only one in her class who has cancer,” Blake Pierce, 5, said.
Blake’s classmates made posters and held a school assembly Friday afternoon to cheer Vedovelli on. She will be running with Griffin’s Friends, a group of volunteers dedicated to providing support to children with cancer.
Founded in 1994 in Springfield, Griffin’s Friends is named for Griffin D. Kelleher, who died at age 14 months after a battle with cancer.
“Griffin’s Friends raises money so kids with cancer can have fun things to do,” Blake told the school assembly.
They send kids with cancer to things such as Springfield Falcons hockey games, the Harlem Globetrotters and bowling parties, said his mother, Laura Pierce.
Laura Pierce learned that her son had acute lymphoblastic leukemia on March 12, 2012, “the worst day of my life,” she said. Since then, she said, Blake has had a year of very challenging chemotherapy treatments and the resulting side effects. He has another 2½ years to go of chemotherapy pills and medical appointments in Boston, but the worst may be behind them, Laura Pierce said.
“He misses a lot of school, but he always wants to come,” she said of Blake. “His attitude is, ‘That’s life,’ and he moves on with it,” she said. His attitude is, “Let’s keep going.”
On Monday, Patriots' Day, Blake and his family will be at Mile 24 of the marathon route, cheering on Vedovelli, who will be heading up Team Blake for Griffin’s Friends.
This year Griffin’s Friends is sending three buses of runners – 125 runners – to the Boston Marathon.
“We’ll be the ones wearing the Blue Shirts,” Vedovelli said.
Griffin’s Friends marathoners commit to raise at least $400 in contributions or pledges for Griffin’s Friends activities.
Vedovelli was a high school and college athlete and played soccer for Stonehill College. After college she started running marathons. “This will be my fourth time running the Boston Marathon,” she said. “The last time I did it was in 2008.
“I decided to run this marathon for Blake,” she said. She has been training for Boston with other Griffin’s Friends runners in Springfield.
To support their teacher, the kindergarten students at the assembly ran in place for 26 seconds, one second for every mile Vedovelli will run on Monday.