"There is hope": Jimmy Fund hosts cancer patients at Franklin Park Zoo
BOSTON - Joy, laughter and hugs filled the Franklin Park Zoo on Sunday as hundreds of children and families took part in the 30th annual Jimmy Fund Clinic Summer Festival.
Kids got up close and personal with giraffes and gorillas, they enjoyed rides and the incredible weather.
Lisa Scherber started this tradition 30 years ago.
"What makes this day so special is that 30 years ago, families told me 'We want a day of hope, we want to see a day where kids are done with treatment," she said.
Francesca Bianchi, 22, was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the age of seven. She is now cancer free. She's been coming to this event for 12 years.
"There is hope, and anyone can overcome anything, but especially those out there who have it, just know you can totally do it," Bianchi said.
Seventeen-year-old Sicilia Campbell was diagnosed with cancer when she was two and has been in remission for the past 15 years. She says being around other Jimmy Fund cancer patients makes her feel she with company who understands her struggle.
"It's a place that has been in my heart for a long time. They've helped me through some of the hardest challenges I've faced in my life. They mean a lot to me," Campbell said.
From face painting and sketches to superheroes, these Jimmy Fund patients were taking it all in. September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month.
"These kids are the strongest, the toughest, the bravest an dit's days like this that gives them the joy and the strength to make it to the next day," Scherber said.
