April 11, 2026 • 12 mins
Over the past quarter-century, the state of healthcare has changed dramatically, with new cures and treatments becoming available for conditions that have been around for far longer. While there's no cure yet for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a lot of progress has been made when it comes to research and support, and much of that progress is thanks to the Jett Foundation of Norwell. Eric Snyder, President and CEO, and Maura Carroll, the Director of Development, talk with Nichole about the Foundation's storied history, their efforts, and their upcoming event to celebrate their 25th year.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England Weekend.
Each week right here we come together, we talk about
all the topics important to you and the place where
you live. Great to have you back with us this week.
I'm Nicole Davis. Healthcare has changed quite a bit over
the past quarter century, and that includes finding treatments and
even cures for conditions that have been around for much longer.
(00:28):
There is no cure yet for Douche muscular dystrophee, but
a lot of progress has been made in learning about it,
supporting those who have it, and working to find that cure.
This has all come in part thanks to the work
of the Jet Foundation in Norwell. The foundation was created
by two South Shore parents out of love and concern
for their child Jet, It was diagnosed with the condition
at a young age. In the years since, they've raised
(00:50):
millions of dollars for research, launched a special summer camp
for kids with the condition, and offered critical family resources
like medical and fiscal support. And CEO Eric Snyder is
here now along with the Foundation's development director, Mara Carrol.
It is good to have you both with us today,
and Eric, I'd love to hear first about the McSharry
family about Jet and how this all became a reality.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Sure a Jet Foundation was founded twenty five years ago,
actually this year, so it's an amazing accomplishment for the
foundation originated out of a kitchen in Pembroke and our founder,
Christine and husband Steve McSherry got a diagnosis of dushen
(01:35):
with their son Jet, and Jet is our namesake and
that's what really started twenty five years of amazing work
supporting the Duchene community, which started out you know, locally
and has grown to a national organization helping thousands of
families in and out of different communities across the US.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
I love that and more. For people who might not
be familiar with duche muscular dystrophy, tell us a little
bit if you could, about what exactly it is and
what the symptoms are that come along with that.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Absolutely, so, Duschen is a neuro muscular disorder. Most people
are familiar with, you know, the MDA and they support
you know, neuromuscular diseases, and there's about thirty five different
types of muscular disorders, but Dushen is the only fatal form.
And so what happens with children born with dushen. They
(02:25):
are born healthy, learning to crawl, learning to walk, but
they they don't have what produces dystrophin, so they start
losing muscle starting at age five. They're usually in a
wheelchair by mid teens.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
And if you think of the.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Heart as the biggest muscle, so early cardiac failure. So
you know, while you know their other friends or siblings
are gaining independence, they are they are becoming dependent on
wheelchair and things like that.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
That's got to be tough for a family. Eric and
knowing that you know your child just wants to move
and wants to do everything that other kids are doing.
Tell us a little bit about the impact that a
diagnosis like this can have on a family.
Speaker 5 (03:09):
Oh, initially it's devastating.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
You know, a family much like you are my myself, Mora,
And you know, you get your loved one and you
have this vision of what your perfect little family is
going to look like, and then the diagnosis happens, and
you know, you realize very quickly how much it not
only is it going to affect the individual, but the
(03:34):
entire family unit.
Speaker 5 (03:37):
And it's a.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Complex, I would say, a complex web of physical, social, physiological.
Speaker 5 (03:44):
And financial strain.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
That the family now has to consider just as they
go on day in day out, let alone looking out
into the future. So it's it truly is a fully
encompassing path that these families embark on, and you know
we are there to step in and support the families
on all of those different levels along the way.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
And we'll talk about that definitely in just a moment,
because I do want to learn all about your programs.
I feel over the past twenty five years there has
been a huge leave when it comes to medical technology,
medical advancements. Tell us what the world of somebody with
dushen looks like now as opposed to when jet was diagnosed.
Speaker 5 (04:27):
Well twenty five years ago.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
If you search them the Internet, which we all do
when you have a sniffle or a sneeze, you're you're
on there trying to self diagnose doctor Google and yeah,
you're chat at chat GPT. You pull up a variety
of different remedies for that for that illness.
Speaker 5 (04:42):
But you imagine this, two decades.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Ago, you search dushen and hardly anything popped up on
the on the Internet. There wasn't hardly there was zero
treatments out for dushen. And over the over the next
you know, two decades, there has been a massive of
pharmaceutical support in this area and there's many treatments available
for families to look into and to adopt for what
(05:09):
might be best for their child at this point, so
it's really come a long way and there's a lot
of hope that families have now. You know, there is
no cure yet, but they're because of the new treatments
that our pharmaceutical companies are coming out with, our guys
are living longer and they're having much more fulfilling lives
than ever was expected two decades ago.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Well, and you all over at the Foundation are a
major driver behind that. Maura, tell us a little bit
about your programs then, how you're connecting these people who
are diagnosed in their families to the support that they
need to navigate all this.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Absolutely, and that's really why we were founded because there
was no awareness and when families were diagnosed twenty five
years ago, they didn't know where to go.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
There wasn't any but any place to go.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
So over the years we have developed support groups, family
support groups, educational conferences and webinars to connect families. Two
of our main programs that we're very well known for
is our Jet Giving Fund, which is a financial assistance
program specifically to help families on three levels.
Speaker 4 (06:14):
One for accessible vehicles. That's one of.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
The number one barriers to families for independence and connection
is these very expensive vehicles. So we have an incredible
program that helps families in need receive these vehicles. We
also have an emergency fund and an equipment assistance fund,
and then Camp Promise.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
Is also one of our pillar programs.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
So this is you know, a barrier free week long
experience that's typically not accessible to campers and our guests
that come to camp. So we've been doing that since
two thousand and nine. We have seven camps across the
country now, and you know, families are reaching out to
us on a variety of levels and feeling connected and
not receiving this diagnosis.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Well sure, and Americans are strapped right now in general,
right you know, the cost of healthcare is through the roof,
just the cost of living overall is through the roof.
So programs like yours, Mara, I mean, this is a
lifeline for families that may otherwise be drowning in health
care costs.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Absolutely, and that's really where we've been is focusing on
those unmet needs of the community today. And yeah, the
Jet Giving Fund in particular is you know, families are reaching.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Out to us just to really put food on the table.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
That's really what our Emergency Assistance Fund helps families. And
then you know, one of the best things that we
get to do is is gifting a van to a
family that you know, in some cases never got to
leave their house with their wheelchair because they didn't have
a vehicle that could take them. So, you know, we're
really privileged to be able to make such an impact
on the community.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
It is those little things that are not so little,
and you know, twenty five years of that definitely adds up. Eric,
what are you doing over there to mark quarter of
a century of this great work that you're doing. Is
there anything special that you're focusing on right now?
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Yeah, twenty five years, right, you have to celebrate the
staying power of this organization and how it's grown from
day one to the twenty fifth year. We are delighted
to be offering out to the community and our friends
of the Foundation our twenty fifth year anniversary Silver Soire,
(08:22):
which is a gala that is coming to the local area.
Speaker 5 (08:26):
Granted Links on June eleventh.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
So we look forward to celebrating wonderful work support being
there united with our families, our donors, our friends of
the foundation, and at the end of the day, to
honor the McSherry family and all the work that they've
done to help so many people over the course of
this this.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Time granted links. That skyline view gorgeous. I've been there
before for a couple of weddings. I mean, that is
a beautiful venue, So it sounds like it's going to
be a great night regardless.
Speaker 5 (08:58):
Yes, we are looking forward to it.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
I mean, it's there's no other way to say it
that it's it's exciting, and it's as a as a
nonprofit and you know, the donations that we receive go
right back into the community, goes right back into the
Duschen families. As Moron talked about earlier, to be able
to celebrate the growth of this organization, to to do
(09:21):
what to just help more people and the mission does
not get lost. So we look forward to celebrating wonderful
work and certainly acknowledging the mcsherry's and what they've done.
They've really changed the ecosystem for this community over a
lot of years.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Absolutely. Well, then let's talk about how people can support
you more. If they want to get tickets to the gala,
or if they can't make it but they just want
to give in any way they can, how can they
connect with you to do that?
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Absolutely well, they can certainly go to our website, which
is jet Foundation dot org.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
Get j et Foundation dot org.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
From there you can learn more about our soare and
attending we also, you know, there's certainly direct donations that
we love to receive, but there's a lot of other
ways you can get involved, especially here on the South Shore.
We have some athletic events like our We have a
Foulmouth road race team. We have a cohase A triathlon team,
(10:23):
Galas Rakel and Hopkintent. So we have a lot of
athletic fundraisers if people would like to get involved. But yes,
twenty five years are silver soare We hope people will
come out and join us. Certainly you can donate auction items.
We're gonna have live and silent auctions. We will have music.
It will be a fun night.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
And Eric, if people are maybe listening and they own
a business, are you looking for corporate partners? Are you
looking for sponsors. How can they assist in that.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Way everything, Nicole, great question. We love corporate sponsorship.
Speaker 5 (10:56):
You know.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Another way to get involved is through volunteerism. There's always
an our opportunity for individuals to really learn firsthand on
what it's like to do our work, certainly with the
seven camps that we have, but you know, the partnerships
that we can have with local businesses is wonderful and
that's a great way to bring in you know, good
(11:20):
cohesive community work together.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Now because you're not just working in Massachusetts anymore. I
mean this all started, like you said, kitchen table over
on the South Shore, but this is a nationwide thing,
so I'm sure all the help you can get you're
never going to turn it down.
Speaker 5 (11:33):
That's correct, That's correct.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Yeah, all right, Jetfoundation dot org. Maura, are you on
social media?
Speaker 3 (11:39):
The Foundation is on social media. We have a Facebook page,
we have an Instagram, we have LinkedIn.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
You can find us on all of those channels.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
Maura and Eric, thank you so much for your time.
It's been great learning about the foundation, and I hope
you have a lovely soare in June in Quinsy.
Speaker 5 (11:58):
Thanks so much. Thanks for having us.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Have a safe and healthy weekend. Please join us again
next week for another edition of the show. I'm Nicole
Davis from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England Weekend.
Each week right here we come together, we talk about
all the topics important to you and the place where
you live. Great to have you back with us this week.
I'm Nicole Davis. Healthcare has changed quite a bit over
the past quarter century, and that includes finding treatments and
even cures for conditions that have been around for much longer.
(00:28):
There is no cure yet for Douche muscular dystrophee, but
a lot of progress has been made in learning about it,
supporting those who have it, and working to find that cure.
This has all come in part thanks to the work
of the Jet Foundation in Norwell. The foundation was created
by two South Shore parents out of love and concern
for their child Jet, It was diagnosed with the condition
at a young age. In the years since, they've raised
(00:50):
millions of dollars for research, launched a special summer camp
for kids with the condition, and offered critical family resources
like medical and fiscal support. And CEO Eric Snyder is
here now along with the Foundation's development director, Mara Carrol.
It is good to have you both with us today,
and Eric, I'd love to hear first about the McSharry
family about Jet and how this all became a reality.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Sure a Jet Foundation was founded twenty five years ago,
actually this year, so it's an amazing accomplishment for the
foundation originated out of a kitchen in Pembroke and our founder,
Christine and husband Steve McSherry got a diagnosis of dushen
(01:35):
with their son Jet, and Jet is our namesake and
that's what really started twenty five years of amazing work
supporting the Duchene community, which started out you know, locally
and has grown to a national organization helping thousands of
families in and out of different communities across the US.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
I love that and more. For people who might not
be familiar with duche muscular dystrophy, tell us a little
bit if you could, about what exactly it is and
what the symptoms are that come along with that.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Absolutely, so, Duschen is a neuro muscular disorder. Most people
are familiar with, you know, the MDA and they support
you know, neuromuscular diseases, and there's about thirty five different
types of muscular disorders, but Dushen is the only fatal form.
And so what happens with children born with dushen. They
(02:25):
are born healthy, learning to crawl, learning to walk, but
they they don't have what produces dystrophin, so they start
losing muscle starting at age five. They're usually in a
wheelchair by mid teens.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
And if you think of the.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Heart as the biggest muscle, so early cardiac failure. So
you know, while you know their other friends or siblings
are gaining independence, they are they are becoming dependent on
wheelchair and things like that.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
That's got to be tough for a family. Eric and
knowing that you know your child just wants to move
and wants to do everything that other kids are doing.
Tell us a little bit about the impact that a
diagnosis like this can have on a family.
Speaker 5 (03:09):
Oh, initially it's devastating.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
You know, a family much like you are my myself, Mora,
And you know, you get your loved one and you
have this vision of what your perfect little family is
going to look like, and then the diagnosis happens, and
you know, you realize very quickly how much it not
only is it going to affect the individual, but the
(03:34):
entire family unit.
Speaker 5 (03:37):
And it's a.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Complex, I would say, a complex web of physical, social, physiological.
Speaker 5 (03:44):
And financial strain.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
That the family now has to consider just as they
go on day in day out, let alone looking out
into the future. So it's it truly is a fully
encompassing path that these families embark on, and you know
we are there to step in and support the families
on all of those different levels along the way.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
And we'll talk about that definitely in just a moment,
because I do want to learn all about your programs.
I feel over the past twenty five years there has
been a huge leave when it comes to medical technology,
medical advancements. Tell us what the world of somebody with
dushen looks like now as opposed to when jet was diagnosed.
Speaker 5 (04:27):
Well twenty five years ago.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
If you search them the Internet, which we all do
when you have a sniffle or a sneeze, you're you're
on there trying to self diagnose doctor Google and yeah,
you're chat at chat GPT. You pull up a variety
of different remedies for that for that illness.
Speaker 5 (04:42):
But you imagine this, two decades.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Ago, you search dushen and hardly anything popped up on
the on the Internet. There wasn't hardly there was zero
treatments out for dushen. And over the over the next
you know, two decades, there has been a massive of
pharmaceutical support in this area and there's many treatments available
for families to look into and to adopt for what
(05:09):
might be best for their child at this point, so
it's really come a long way and there's a lot
of hope that families have now. You know, there is
no cure yet, but they're because of the new treatments
that our pharmaceutical companies are coming out with, our guys
are living longer and they're having much more fulfilling lives
than ever was expected two decades ago.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Well, and you all over at the Foundation are a
major driver behind that. Maura, tell us a little bit
about your programs then, how you're connecting these people who
are diagnosed in their families to the support that they
need to navigate all this.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Absolutely, and that's really why we were founded because there
was no awareness and when families were diagnosed twenty five
years ago, they didn't know where to go.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
There wasn't any but any place to go.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
So over the years we have developed support groups, family
support groups, educational conferences and webinars to connect families. Two
of our main programs that we're very well known for
is our Jet Giving Fund, which is a financial assistance
program specifically to help families on three levels.
Speaker 4 (06:14):
One for accessible vehicles. That's one of.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
The number one barriers to families for independence and connection
is these very expensive vehicles. So we have an incredible
program that helps families in need receive these vehicles. We
also have an emergency fund and an equipment assistance fund,
and then Camp Promise.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
Is also one of our pillar programs.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
So this is you know, a barrier free week long
experience that's typically not accessible to campers and our guests
that come to camp. So we've been doing that since
two thousand and nine. We have seven camps across the
country now, and you know, families are reaching out to
us on a variety of levels and feeling connected and
not receiving this diagnosis.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Well sure, and Americans are strapped right now in general,
right you know, the cost of healthcare is through the roof,
just the cost of living overall is through the roof.
So programs like yours, Mara, I mean, this is a
lifeline for families that may otherwise be drowning in health
care costs.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Absolutely, and that's really where we've been is focusing on
those unmet needs of the community today. And yeah, the
Jet Giving Fund in particular is you know, families are reaching.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Out to us just to really put food on the table.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
That's really what our Emergency Assistance Fund helps families. And
then you know, one of the best things that we
get to do is is gifting a van to a
family that you know, in some cases never got to
leave their house with their wheelchair because they didn't have
a vehicle that could take them. So, you know, we're
really privileged to be able to make such an impact
on the community.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
It is those little things that are not so little,
and you know, twenty five years of that definitely adds up. Eric,
what are you doing over there to mark quarter of
a century of this great work that you're doing. Is
there anything special that you're focusing on right now?
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Yeah, twenty five years, right, you have to celebrate the
staying power of this organization and how it's grown from
day one to the twenty fifth year. We are delighted
to be offering out to the community and our friends
of the Foundation our twenty fifth year anniversary Silver Soire,
(08:22):
which is a gala that is coming to the local area.
Speaker 5 (08:26):
Granted Links on June eleventh.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
So we look forward to celebrating wonderful work support being
there united with our families, our donors, our friends of
the foundation, and at the end of the day, to
honor the McSherry family and all the work that they've
done to help so many people over the course of
this this.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Time granted links. That skyline view gorgeous. I've been there
before for a couple of weddings. I mean, that is
a beautiful venue, So it sounds like it's going to
be a great night regardless.
Speaker 5 (08:58):
Yes, we are looking forward to it.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
I mean, it's there's no other way to say it
that it's it's exciting, and it's as a as a
nonprofit and you know, the donations that we receive go
right back into the community, goes right back into the
Duschen families. As Moron talked about earlier, to be able
to celebrate the growth of this organization, to to do
(09:21):
what to just help more people and the mission does
not get lost. So we look forward to celebrating wonderful
work and certainly acknowledging the mcsherry's and what they've done.
They've really changed the ecosystem for this community over a
lot of years.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Absolutely. Well, then let's talk about how people can support
you more. If they want to get tickets to the gala,
or if they can't make it but they just want
to give in any way they can, how can they
connect with you to do that?
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Absolutely well, they can certainly go to our website, which
is jet Foundation dot org.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
Get j et Foundation dot org.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
From there you can learn more about our soare and
attending we also, you know, there's certainly direct donations that
we love to receive, but there's a lot of other
ways you can get involved, especially here on the South Shore.
We have some athletic events like our We have a
Foulmouth road race team. We have a cohase A triathlon team,
(10:23):
Galas Rakel and Hopkintent. So we have a lot of
athletic fundraisers if people would like to get involved. But yes,
twenty five years are silver soare We hope people will
come out and join us. Certainly you can donate auction items.
We're gonna have live and silent auctions. We will have music.
It will be a fun night.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
And Eric, if people are maybe listening and they own
a business, are you looking for corporate partners? Are you
looking for sponsors. How can they assist in that.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Way everything, Nicole, great question. We love corporate sponsorship.
Speaker 5 (10:56):
You know.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Another way to get involved is through volunteerism. There's always
an our opportunity for individuals to really learn firsthand on
what it's like to do our work, certainly with the
seven camps that we have, but you know, the partnerships
that we can have with local businesses is wonderful and
that's a great way to bring in you know, good
(11:20):
cohesive community work together.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Now because you're not just working in Massachusetts anymore. I
mean this all started, like you said, kitchen table over
on the South Shore, but this is a nationwide thing,
so I'm sure all the help you can get you're
never going to turn it down.
Speaker 5 (11:33):
That's correct, That's correct.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Yeah, all right, Jetfoundation dot org. Maura, are you on
social media?
Speaker 3 (11:39):
The Foundation is on social media. We have a Facebook page,
we have an Instagram, we have LinkedIn.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
You can find us on all of those channels.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
Maura and Eric, thank you so much for your time.
It's been great learning about the foundation, and I hope
you have a lovely soare in June in Quinsy.
Speaker 5 (11:58):
Thanks so much. Thanks for having us.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Have a safe and healthy weekend. Please join us again
next week for another edition of the show. I'm Nicole
Davis from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio
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