TAUNTON — When Cops for Kids With Cancer presented 10-year-old Jace Dupra’s family with a donation at the Taunton Police Station, Officer Evan Lavigne was there to meet Jace — not only for the award, but because Lavigne has also struggled with cancer.
Lavigne showed Jace — who is battling stage four medulloblastoma — his patrol car, where he inspected all the gadgets, shouted some commands over the intercom, and activated the lights and sirens.
“Jace grabbed the steering wheel, looked over to me and said ‘I could totally drive this thing.’ My hope is that someday, when this is all behind him, he does,” Lavigne said.
Lavigne was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in January 2015, entered remission in April 2015, and attended the police academy that September.
“When I heard about Jace’s visit, I had to meet him. Meeting Jace and seeing his personality shine reminded me of my experience walking through Children’s Hospital,” Lavigne said.
“I remember thinking how tragic it was that children had to battle this disease that I was battling. The children battling cancer were always the most upbeat and positive. This helped me immensely in my fight with cancer. I thought, if a child can be positive and fight this disease with a smile, so can I.”
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On Monday, Jan. 16, Massachusetts retired Sgt. Thomas Reed, fellow Cops for Kids With Cancer board member Dennis Symmons and associate member Mark Wilcox presented a $5,000 check to the Dupra-Peterson family.Jace’s mother, Donielle Peterson, accepted the check with Jace. Taunton Police officers were on hand and met with the family.
Cops for Kids with Cancer will be hosting a cornhole tournament on Saturday, Jan. 21, at Article 15 Brewing Co., 406 VFW Drive, Rockland, for first responders, family and friends to raise money for the organization. Registration for the event begins at 2 p.m. and the tournament will begin promptly at 2:30 p.m.
Each team for the event will consist of two people and the cost is $100 per team. There will be prizes for the teams that place in the top three spots. There will also be a 50/50 raffle and food trucks on site.
All proceeds go directly to Cops for Kids With Cancer.
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“The Taunton Police Department is honored to be able to host the Dupre-Peterson family and wish to thank the leadership, board members and sponsors of the Cops for Kids With Cancer organization for their work in our community,” Taunton Police Chief Edward Walsh said.
For more information on Cops for Kids With Cancer or to donate visit https://copsforkidswithcancer.org/.
