Anybody who has watched American society for any length of time – particularly in the years since the 9/11 tragedies – knows that folks here have gotten extremely good at pulling together in the wake of awful, heart-wrenching events.
And one local case in point began two years ago when the members of the Londonderry Lancer Gridiron Club began what they called their “White-Out Night” in support of a local family dealing with tragedy and in need of financial help which could lighten an already hefty emotional load.
Sales of white tee-shirts to be worn by the Lancer faithful during a designated LHS varsity football home game and other peripheral fundraising efforts around that contest are utilized to raise monies for a selected Londonderry family. And this year’s recipient was the Walsh family, which was devastated by the unexpected passing of patriarch and devoted coach and band volunteer Michael, who died in early July at the age of 49.
This year’s White Out event was held during the Sept. 15 Londonderry home game against the Nashua North Titans, and a pretty impressive $7,600 was raised for the local family. LHS varsity grid coach Jimmy Lauzon and gridiron club president Jim Furlong presented a check in that amount to mom Cathy Walsh and her son Dylan during a recent meeting of the club’s board of directors.
The Walsh family consists of mother Cathy, eldest son Andrew who is presently studying at Merrimack College, Dylan who is a senior football and baseball player at LHS, and daughter Nicole who is a freshman field hockey player and band member at the local high school.
“The family was left devastated by this unexpected loss,” said Cathleen Tsetsilas of the gridiron club. “The community stepped up with an amazing outpouring of support.”
Other important support was put forth by a number of sponsors which included the Lancer Athletic Alumni Association and the Lancer Dugout Club. Memorial donations may still be made to the Walsh Family College Fund at P.O. Box 1247, Londonderry, 03053.
Needless to say, this is one worthy cause.