City man’s fundraiser part of Run to Home Base 9K run/walk
““Last year I raised $3,500 and my goal this year is to raise $5,000.”
—Christopher Lanctot, who is holding a fundraiser Saturday night with proceeds going to his Run to Home Base venture
WOONSOCKET — If you want to help Christopher Lanctot in his annual efforts supporting the Home Base Program, stop by at the Woonsocket Elks Lodge #850 at 380 Sodcial St., Saturday night for a traditional local tbeer and dynamite fundraiser.
Saturday’s event, from 6 p.m. to midnight, will be the eighth fundraiser Lanctot has put ton locally, as part of his participation in the Run to Home Base 9K run/walk the Red Sox Foundation and Mass General Hospital sponrsor each year at Fenway Park.
The run/walk is for the Home Base Program, which assists veterans with post trautmatic stress syndrome, PTSD and other traumatic brain injuries from their military service. Home Base seeks to heal the invisible wounds faced by veterans, service members and their families through world-class clinical care, wellness, education and research.
The program was founded after the team’s 2007 World Series win, when Red Sox players and owners met with wounded veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and learned of the medical challenges many returning Veterans were facing, according to Home Base. At that time, according to the charitable organization, Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner made a commitment to partner with Massachusetts General Hospital in order to address the signature “Invisible Wounds of War.”
Home Base is the first partnership of its kind in the nation between an academic Medical Center and a Major League Baseball team. Home Base operates the first and largest private-sector clinic in the nation devoted to healing invisible wounds such as post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury, anxiety, depression, co-occurring substance use disorder, military sexual trauma, family relationship challenges and other issues associated with military service.
To date, Home Base has served more than 15,500 veterans and family members with care and support, trained more than 67,500 clinicians, educators and community members nationally and remains at the forefront of efforts to discover new treatments to help ensure a brighter future for the 21st century warrior and military family.
The run/walk will be held on Saturday, July 28, and offers both a 9K and 5K course for participants. The routes leave Jersey Street and travel through scenic Boston before ending inside Fenway Park, where each participant gets to cross home plate.
Lanctot has run all nine of the Run to Home Base run/walks over the years and has counted on his family and local friends to make a total of $22,000 in donations to the cause over the past eight years.
The Elks Club fundraiser has drawn Lanctot support from major sponsors such as the Samuel Adams Brewery, in Boston, Ravenous Brewing in Woonsocket, and Heavy Press Graphics in Bellingham. Also contributing are Local 732, Woonsocket, of the International Association of Fire Fighters, Hilltop Farms, Pulaski Boulevard, Bellingham, Denny’s Liquors, Pulaski Boulevard, Bellingham, and R.J. Hill Liquors. This year, Scott Rondeau will be making his contribution to the event by serving as DJ for the entertainment.
The evening will include the raffle of gift baskets from the sponsors and a silent auction of sports memorabilia. This year’s auction highlights include an authenticated, signed basketball from Celtics’ great Paul Pierce, and another autographed Red Sox jersey from Dustin Pedroia. A number of other items will also be offered through both the raffles and the auction. Anyone still wishing to contribute items supporting the fundraiser can contact Lanctot at chris.lanctot@yahoo.com, call him at 774-210-2398, or use his personal donation page for the 2018 Run/Walk to Home Base.
Lanctot said on Monday that things were coming together for Saturday’s event but his volunteers, including his wife, Nicole, his parents Gary and Terri-Lyn Lanctot, other family members and friends had plenty to do before Saturday.
“I have to raise at least $750 for the run/ walk but I want to give more than that,” Lanctot said Monday. “Last year I raised $3,500 and my goal this year is to raise $5,000.”
Lanctot said Home Base provides wide ranging assistance to veterans with PTSD and traumatic brain injuries and their families and its programs can range from immediate intervention to week long treatment sessions and more.
“I just want to thank everyone who has helped in this cause over the 8 years, from everyone making donations to the people who help put this together, volunteer to cook and take me around to pick up contributions for the raffles,” he said.
Tickets for the fundraiser, $15 per person, will be available at the door at the Elks Hall for people 21 and over. Tickets can also be purchased in advance by contacting Lanctot. All funding raised is donated to Home Base.