The Men With Heart Team

Men With Heart Team Members Scott Walters (l) and Paul Boulanger

Kingfish Hall

Boston

January 26, 2009

Back in 2001, I joined team of phenomenal men, when Paul Boulanger (in the right of the photo above) created Men With Heart. The team's story is a simple one. Paul walked in 2000 in the then Avon 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk in Boston, alongside his wife, a breast cancer survivor.

Looking around, Paul didn't see many men. In fact, he didn't see any.

Alarmed, Paul decided to get men involved, and the next year, more than 40 males (I among them) joined the walk. Wearing our signature yellow t-shirts and smiles, we marched from Fitchburg to Boston.

Since then, Men With Heart has raised more than $800,000 in the fight against breast cancer, mainly by sponsoring walkers in major breast cancer walks, including the now Komen 3-Day and the 2-Day Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.

This past Monday, I attended the Men With Heart kick-off meeting, which for several years has been held at Kingfish Hall in downtown Boston. It was the first time I had been to a team event in years (though I still receive the team's regular emails), but I felt like I never left.

It's impossible to put in words what it's like to participate in one of the multi-day breast cancer walks as a member of Men With Heart. If you are looking for a cause in 2009, I encourage you to visit the team's website.

P.S. Ask my friend Tom Hopcroft or I some day about day two of our first 3 Day. When we walked in snow. In May. And we were inspired by every minute of it.