SAUGUS — Five Saugus police officers are set to run the Boston Marathon Monday, each doing so to raise money and awareness for a charity of their choice.
Saugus Police Sgt. Stephen Rappa, Lt. Anthony Lopresti, Detective Stacey Forni, officer Allison Cooper, and officer Brett Dipanfilo are running the 26.2-mile race in support of the Officer Sean A. Collier Memorial Fund, Tedy’s Team, Vanessa T. Marcotte Foundation, Herren Project, and TB12 Foundation, respectively.
In total, the five officers have raised over $50,000 for the various charities they are running for.
“The Saugus Police Department is very proud to have five of our officers running in the Boston Marathon,” said Chief Michael Ricciardelli in a statement.
The 127th Boston Marathon will see thousands run from Hopkinton all the way to Boston’s Copley Square, beginning Monday morning and spanning throughout the day. This year’s marathon, which marks the 10th anniversary of the bombings that killed three and injured hundreds, holds added weight and significance.
The Sean A. Collier Memorial Fund is named after an MIT police officer who was killed in the line of duty in a carjacking by the two men who carried out the bombings — Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The memorial fund seeks to carry on Collier’s “deep personal and professional commitment to service, connection, and support for others,” according to its website.
The fund also awards grants to local police departments and non-profits for the development and implementation of programs designed to build connections between law enforcement and local communities.
Tedy’s Team is a charity founded by former New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi, who suffered a stroke at age 31. Tedy’s Team seeks to “raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of stroke, and to break the stigma of who can have a stroke.”
Lopresti said he applied to run the marathon for Tedy’s Team because of the way Bruschi’s story mirrored that of his own daughter, Isabella, who suffered a mild stroke as a result of a heart condition. She was scheduled to undergo surgery on Marathon Monday in 2022. While the surgery was ultimately delayed, she made a full recovery.
The Vanessa T. Marcotte Foundation is named for a 27-year-old Google employee who was killed in 2016 by a Worcester man while she was on a walk. The foundation seeks to create a world in which, “women are safe and free to live boldly and fearlessly.”
Forni said she has been handling sexual assault, domestic violence, and harassment cases since 1996 and was honored to be running the marathon in support of the foundation.
“I believe that if we educate, empower, and help motivate society to make changes, we can hopefully help protect citizens or maybe even save a life,” she wrote.
The Herren Project, a national nonprofit, provides “free resources and support for the treatment, recovery and prevention of substance use disorder.” The nonprofit was founded by Chris Herren, a former professional basketball player who has been in long-term recovery since 2008.
Cooper said she was first introduced to the Herren Project after attending an event Herren spoke at a decade ago.
“At this event he told his story, which blew me away,” she wrote.
The TB12 Foundation was founded by former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in 2015, and seeks to “help educate and inspire athletes to excel in both sports and life by providing access to innovative health and wellness resources that support preparation, performance and recovery,” according to its website.
Dipanfilo said he sought to run the marathon for the TB12 Foundation because of the key role athletics played in his life.
“It has simply given me the confidence to never give up,” he wrote. “That is why I am excited to be able to give back to such an amazing charity that does just that!”
Those seeking to support any of the Saugus police officers and their charities can do so by searching the officer’s name on givengain.com.
