June 21, 2025 • 12 mins
A cancer diagnosis can be devastating for anyone, but it's especially so when it happens to a child. Families rally to support their loved one while they navigate treatment, but it can take a toll on everyone involved. Anna's Pals, a non-profit in West Roxbury, is slowly but surely creating a special getaway for these families where they can sit back, relax, and take a breath on the Cape. Kristina Jerome, Founder of Anna's Pals, shares details about their efforts to build this beach home in her late daughter's memory.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England Weekend.
We're each and every week right here, we come together,
we talk about all the topics important to you and
the place where you live. Thanks for being with us
again this week, and happy summer to you. I'm Nicole Davis.
A cancer diagnosis can be devastating for anyone, but it's
especially so when it happens to a child. As families
(00:29):
rally to support their loved one as they navigate treatment,
it takes a toll on not just the child, but
everybody else in the family and the home down on
the Cape, a special getaway for these families to get
a much needed reset is slowly but surely coming together
and it's all thanks to Anna's Pals of West Roxbury.
Christina Jerome, the co founder of Anna's Pals, is here
with us now, and Christina, first of all, thank you
(00:52):
so much for being here. Tell us a bit about
Anna's Peals. Who was Anna?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Tell us her story, Anna's my Daughter and Anna's Pals
was found in her memory after she lost her battle
with leukemia in twenty fourteen at the age of fifteen,
and as a group of friends they called themselves the
Pals and they were with her from start to finish
(01:18):
of this whole journey. She was on her medical journey,
and so one time I was hospitalized, she was walking
around the hospital and she noticed a patient who didn't
have any adults with him or any friends with him,
and she was really saddened by that, and she said,
everybody should have a pal. So we founded Anna's Pals
(01:41):
as a shout out to her friends who are so supportive,
and you know, in memory of Anna, to help support
patients so that they always feel like they have a pal.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
It sounds like she was such a good kid, and
it's clear that that memory has lived on to today
with all the good work you're doing. Tell us a
bit about what that work is.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
So when we while we were first found at Anna's house,
it was to support kids that have prolonged hospitalizations due
to cancer treatment, and we supply meals and bedside distractions
to kids in that situation. However, we decided that we
would like to do more, and after Anna's bone marrow transplant,
(02:22):
we really noticed a void in the care of immunocompromised kids.
They're just pretty much in lockdown and they can't do anything.
You know, they can't have people at their house, they
can't go anywhere, they can't go in a store, they
can't go to school, they can't go to grandma's. I mean,
there's just basically what we endured during COVID. These kids
(02:45):
have to endure daily. The difference is during COVID we
were all in lockdown together. These guys are on lockdown
and life goes on without them. So our goal now
is to create a b house destination so that these
kids can get away with their families and regroup and
(03:06):
kind of have a time together as a family that
right now doesn't exist.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
And you're building this in this beautiful old schoolhouse, the
Ella Hoxie School. How did you track down a building
like this? And how did this all come together?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
So we have been searching for the right property for
a long time and I was striving down in the
Boorn area looking at a piece of property that was
for sale, and that property didn't end up being the
right one. And we saw for sales sign on the
corner of the street and we turned the corner and
there was this beautiful building and I said to my husband,
(03:44):
I'm like, that building is not in use, and I
immediately sent an email to the town to find out
what was going on with that building, and we worked
with the town so that we could acquire it and
we are going to turn this into a destination for
these families.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Now, obviously it's an older building. How are you going
to be able to get it up to code and
make sure because again, these kids have cancer and other
compromising diseases. What do you what are your plans to
make sure that it's a safe but fun place for
them to go.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
So the building, it's in an old schoolhouse, It has
Aspectos floors, it had a leaky roof. We've already replaced
the roof. We will do the proper remediation that needs
to be done to make it safe. We will have
hospital grade air filtration systems and everything will be up
to code for these patients. The good news for us
(04:37):
is that the building is under historic preservation, which is
why it was still available. Otherwise, I'm sure a contractor
would have come and, you know, knocked it down and
built something big and beautiful right there next to the canal.
But we will be able to preserve it because of
its historic preservation. So the exterior will stay very much
the same, while the interior interior will be dedicated to
(05:00):
these families.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
I love that. So tell me about what your plans
are for the inside. I see, you've got eight apartments
essentially being built in this schoolhouse. What will the apartments
have in them?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
So they will basically be just a regular two bedroom apartment,
We're gonna call them cottages for the beach field, there
will be two bedroom apartments with a full kitchen. I mean,
these kids typically have tons of meds, so they need
their own refrigeration and all of that stuff, So it'll
be a full kitchen in the basement area. The patients
won't be able to go down there because the filtration
(05:32):
down there will be different, but we'll have a laundry
room and stuff for the parents to do laundry and
stuff what the kids will be able to utilize. Though
there's a gym there, we're gonna convert that into a
reck room area. Where the stage currently is, We're going
to take that down because it's not wheelchair accessible anyway,
and we're going to make that a media room so
it will be like a movie theater because these kids
(05:53):
can't go to the movies, So we're going to have
the reck room with a media room that the families
can use, where a minute walk to the canal, a
mile and a half to the discussed beach, Sagamore Beaches
down the street. You know, everything that the cave offers
is right there. There's lots of outside area for these
(06:14):
families to be able to enjoy.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Well, that's great, And honestly, I'm a firm believer that
being by the water is some of the best not
just peace, but it's healing. To me, Like, whenever I'm
not feeling great, I drive down to the beach and
I just sit there and I take in the salt
air and listen to the birds fighting over a French
fry or whatever is going on. But it really is
such a calming and healing experience and these kids really
(06:37):
need that and their families too.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
It's so true. There is just something about being by
the beach where you just you can inhale and it's calming,
and your exhale is in a stress exhale, it's a
peaceful exhale. And you know there's often times a lot
of resentment with the siblings. You know, they they're also
in lockdown because of this sick child and this will
(07:00):
give them family time together so they can rebuild those relationships,
which are just so important because you know, you don't
know how long this patient has. I mean, hopefully they
make a full recovery, but they may not, and you know,
these are memories that they will be able to cherish forever,
memories that you know, we didn't get to create. So
I'm hopeful that we are really providing these families with
(07:23):
with just some meaningful time.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
And for the families, I mean, talk about the toll
that cancer, especially a child with cancer, takes on the
families because we talk about the kids a lot, which
we should, but it's a very heavy burden for the
families as well.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Oh. Completely, everybody is impacted when there's a sick child.
In Anna's case, she had a very aggressive form of
leukemia AML, so she was hospitalized for the first five months.
I mean, she was diagnosed at her pediatricia's office, we
drove to Children's and she didn't leave for five months.
That takes a toll on everyone. I mean, I had
(08:01):
two other kids at home. Anna had a twin brother,
she had a little sister. You know, I would I'm
a teacher. I used to bring my kids to school
with me. I was no longer going to school. So
Anna's little sister had to go to school with someone
else and get picked up by someone else. And I
mean most kids go to school without their parents, but
she had never done that before. You know, it was
(08:24):
very challenging. Will had never gone to school without a sister.
Before everything changes, I was slitting at the hospital, not
sleeping at home. You know, my husband was sleeping at
the hospital and not sleeping at home. We were, you know,
switching nights back and forth, homework help. I mean, just
all the things that the normal routines that you just
take for granted are just gone. And I mean that
(08:44):
was the case for everyone that we were in the
hospital with. I mean, just your whole world has turned
upside down.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Yeah, it really is.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
It definitely impacts everyone for sure.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
So let's talk about then, the money, because unfortunately, you
need money to get this done. It's just the way
the world. Where are you at in your fundraising and
how much more do you need to get this complete?
Speaker 2 (09:05):
We need a lot more. I mean we're very fortunate
to have the property, and you know that's half the battle.
The other half is, you know, retrofitting this building to
make it conducive to serve these children. We are looking
at raising just for the construction alone, probably another five
(09:26):
million dollars and then another fifteen to twenty million for
you know, an endowment, and you know, for longevity of
the building. You know, the operations are probably going to
cost around a million dollars a year. We want to
be able to provide this family free for the families
free of charge. You know, they've been through enough. Coming
(09:46):
up with vacation funds or you know, rested funds is
not something that a lot of families have readily available,
particularly if someone has to stop working to care for
the child. So it's definitely gonna operations in moving forward
are going to be very costly, as is a construction.
So you know, just to get the ball rolling, we
(10:07):
need about.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Five million dollars, okay, and that is certainly doable. We
have a lot of great people around here who have
the chance to help, and they can do that through
this event that you're holding here in the next few days.
On Monday, June thirtieth, it is a golf tournament over
at the George Wright Golf Course. So tell us what's
going on with that.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
So that's our biggest annual fundraiser. This is I think
our seventh year. I know I lost track as COVID, you.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Know, yeah, I think we all lost track during COVID.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Frankly, yeah, that it's a great event. We have just
such great people. They come and you know, it's it's
not a stressful tournament. We have people who never even
get out of the car to hit the ball. Yeah, bestball.
We have a whole on competition. Prime Honda offers a
car this year at the Honda Civic for the whole
(10:59):
one competition and we have Closest to the Pin Longest Drive.
After the tournament, people come in for lunch. We have
silent auction items and raffle items and it's just really
a good time with the great community really coming together
to support this project.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
How much does it cost to sign up? And where
can people do that? If they want to get involved
in come play?
Speaker 2 (11:21):
So we are it's at anaspals dot org, okay, and
it's two hundred dollars a player and that includes lunch
and the game and all of the all the other games,
you know, the whole in one competition, the Longest Drive,
closest to the pin. And we're always seeking sponsors. If
(11:42):
someone wants to sponsor the tournament, get their name on
our banner and on our signs.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
We are happy to have that also, all right, phenomenal.
And what if somebody wants to just help out, but
they are maybe not of the golf persuasion, but they
want to donate to your cause or they want to
help out in any way.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Annaspals dot org there's right on the homepage. There's a click. Oh,
you can click a link if you'd like to support us.
We are really grateful for all the support we get.
It definitely takes a village to make this happen, I
believe it.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
All right. Well, Chris, thank you so much for all
you're doing for our kids, and I hope it's a
smashing success and the weather decides to behave for once
for your golf tournament, because these days you never know.
And thanks for being on the show.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Thanks again so much for joining us. I hope you
have a great start to the summer this weekend, and
please don't forget to 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.
We're each and every week right here, we come together,
we talk about all the topics important to you and
the place where you live. Thanks for being with us
again this week, and happy summer to you. I'm Nicole Davis.
A cancer diagnosis can be devastating for anyone, but it's
especially so when it happens to a child. As families
(00:29):
rally to support their loved one as they navigate treatment,
it takes a toll on not just the child, but
everybody else in the family and the home down on
the Cape, a special getaway for these families to get
a much needed reset is slowly but surely coming together
and it's all thanks to Anna's Pals of West Roxbury.
Christina Jerome, the co founder of Anna's Pals, is here
with us now, and Christina, first of all, thank you
(00:52):
so much for being here. Tell us a bit about
Anna's Peals. Who was Anna?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Tell us her story, Anna's my Daughter and Anna's Pals
was found in her memory after she lost her battle
with leukemia in twenty fourteen at the age of fifteen,
and as a group of friends they called themselves the
Pals and they were with her from start to finish
(01:18):
of this whole journey. She was on her medical journey,
and so one time I was hospitalized, she was walking
around the hospital and she noticed a patient who didn't
have any adults with him or any friends with him,
and she was really saddened by that, and she said,
everybody should have a pal. So we founded Anna's Pals
(01:41):
as a shout out to her friends who are so supportive,
and you know, in memory of Anna, to help support
patients so that they always feel like they have a pal.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
It sounds like she was such a good kid, and
it's clear that that memory has lived on to today
with all the good work you're doing. Tell us a
bit about what that work is.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
So when we while we were first found at Anna's house,
it was to support kids that have prolonged hospitalizations due
to cancer treatment, and we supply meals and bedside distractions
to kids in that situation. However, we decided that we
would like to do more, and after Anna's bone marrow transplant,
(02:22):
we really noticed a void in the care of immunocompromised kids.
They're just pretty much in lockdown and they can't do anything.
You know, they can't have people at their house, they
can't go anywhere, they can't go in a store, they
can't go to school, they can't go to grandma's. I mean,
there's just basically what we endured during COVID. These kids
(02:45):
have to endure daily. The difference is during COVID we
were all in lockdown together. These guys are on lockdown
and life goes on without them. So our goal now
is to create a b house destination so that these
kids can get away with their families and regroup and
(03:06):
kind of have a time together as a family that
right now doesn't exist.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
And you're building this in this beautiful old schoolhouse, the
Ella Hoxie School. How did you track down a building
like this? And how did this all come together?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
So we have been searching for the right property for
a long time and I was striving down in the
Boorn area looking at a piece of property that was
for sale, and that property didn't end up being the
right one. And we saw for sales sign on the
corner of the street and we turned the corner and
there was this beautiful building and I said to my husband,
(03:44):
I'm like, that building is not in use, and I
immediately sent an email to the town to find out
what was going on with that building, and we worked
with the town so that we could acquire it and
we are going to turn this into a destination for
these families.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Now, obviously it's an older building. How are you going
to be able to get it up to code and
make sure because again, these kids have cancer and other
compromising diseases. What do you what are your plans to
make sure that it's a safe but fun place for
them to go.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
So the building, it's in an old schoolhouse, It has
Aspectos floors, it had a leaky roof. We've already replaced
the roof. We will do the proper remediation that needs
to be done to make it safe. We will have
hospital grade air filtration systems and everything will be up
to code for these patients. The good news for us
(04:37):
is that the building is under historic preservation, which is
why it was still available. Otherwise, I'm sure a contractor
would have come and, you know, knocked it down and
built something big and beautiful right there next to the canal.
But we will be able to preserve it because of
its historic preservation. So the exterior will stay very much
the same, while the interior interior will be dedicated to
(05:00):
these families.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
I love that. So tell me about what your plans
are for the inside. I see, you've got eight apartments
essentially being built in this schoolhouse. What will the apartments
have in them?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
So they will basically be just a regular two bedroom apartment,
We're gonna call them cottages for the beach field, there
will be two bedroom apartments with a full kitchen. I mean,
these kids typically have tons of meds, so they need
their own refrigeration and all of that stuff, So it'll
be a full kitchen in the basement area. The patients
won't be able to go down there because the filtration
(05:32):
down there will be different, but we'll have a laundry
room and stuff for the parents to do laundry and
stuff what the kids will be able to utilize. Though
there's a gym there, we're gonna convert that into a
reck room area. Where the stage currently is, We're going
to take that down because it's not wheelchair accessible anyway,
and we're going to make that a media room so
it will be like a movie theater because these kids
(05:53):
can't go to the movies, So we're going to have
the reck room with a media room that the families
can use, where a minute walk to the canal, a
mile and a half to the discussed beach, Sagamore Beaches
down the street. You know, everything that the cave offers
is right there. There's lots of outside area for these
(06:14):
families to be able to enjoy.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Well, that's great, And honestly, I'm a firm believer that
being by the water is some of the best not
just peace, but it's healing. To me, Like, whenever I'm
not feeling great, I drive down to the beach and
I just sit there and I take in the salt
air and listen to the birds fighting over a French
fry or whatever is going on. But it really is
such a calming and healing experience and these kids really
(06:37):
need that and their families too.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
It's so true. There is just something about being by
the beach where you just you can inhale and it's calming,
and your exhale is in a stress exhale, it's a
peaceful exhale. And you know there's often times a lot
of resentment with the siblings. You know, they they're also
in lockdown because of this sick child and this will
(07:00):
give them family time together so they can rebuild those relationships,
which are just so important because you know, you don't
know how long this patient has. I mean, hopefully they
make a full recovery, but they may not, and you know,
these are memories that they will be able to cherish forever,
memories that you know, we didn't get to create. So
I'm hopeful that we are really providing these families with
(07:23):
with just some meaningful time.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
And for the families, I mean, talk about the toll
that cancer, especially a child with cancer, takes on the
families because we talk about the kids a lot, which
we should, but it's a very heavy burden for the
families as well.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Oh. Completely, everybody is impacted when there's a sick child.
In Anna's case, she had a very aggressive form of
leukemia AML, so she was hospitalized for the first five months.
I mean, she was diagnosed at her pediatricia's office, we
drove to Children's and she didn't leave for five months.
That takes a toll on everyone. I mean, I had
(08:01):
two other kids at home. Anna had a twin brother,
she had a little sister. You know, I would I'm
a teacher. I used to bring my kids to school
with me. I was no longer going to school. So
Anna's little sister had to go to school with someone
else and get picked up by someone else. And I
mean most kids go to school without their parents, but
she had never done that before. You know, it was
(08:24):
very challenging. Will had never gone to school without a sister.
Before everything changes, I was slitting at the hospital, not
sleeping at home. You know, my husband was sleeping at
the hospital and not sleeping at home. We were, you know,
switching nights back and forth, homework help. I mean, just
all the things that the normal routines that you just
take for granted are just gone. And I mean that
(08:44):
was the case for everyone that we were in the
hospital with. I mean, just your whole world has turned
upside down.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Yeah, it really is.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
It definitely impacts everyone for sure.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
So let's talk about then, the money, because unfortunately, you
need money to get this done. It's just the way
the world. Where are you at in your fundraising and
how much more do you need to get this complete?
Speaker 2 (09:05):
We need a lot more. I mean we're very fortunate
to have the property, and you know that's half the battle.
The other half is, you know, retrofitting this building to
make it conducive to serve these children. We are looking
at raising just for the construction alone, probably another five
(09:26):
million dollars and then another fifteen to twenty million for
you know, an endowment, and you know, for longevity of
the building. You know, the operations are probably going to
cost around a million dollars a year. We want to
be able to provide this family free for the families
free of charge. You know, they've been through enough. Coming
(09:46):
up with vacation funds or you know, rested funds is
not something that a lot of families have readily available,
particularly if someone has to stop working to care for
the child. So it's definitely gonna operations in moving forward
are going to be very costly, as is a construction.
So you know, just to get the ball rolling, we
(10:07):
need about.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Five million dollars, okay, and that is certainly doable. We
have a lot of great people around here who have
the chance to help, and they can do that through
this event that you're holding here in the next few days.
On Monday, June thirtieth, it is a golf tournament over
at the George Wright Golf Course. So tell us what's
going on with that.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
So that's our biggest annual fundraiser. This is I think
our seventh year. I know I lost track as COVID, you.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Know, yeah, I think we all lost track during COVID.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Frankly, yeah, that it's a great event. We have just
such great people. They come and you know, it's it's
not a stressful tournament. We have people who never even
get out of the car to hit the ball. Yeah, bestball.
We have a whole on competition. Prime Honda offers a
car this year at the Honda Civic for the whole
(10:59):
one competition and we have Closest to the Pin Longest Drive.
After the tournament, people come in for lunch. We have
silent auction items and raffle items and it's just really
a good time with the great community really coming together
to support this project.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
How much does it cost to sign up? And where
can people do that? If they want to get involved
in come play?
Speaker 2 (11:21):
So we are it's at anaspals dot org, okay, and
it's two hundred dollars a player and that includes lunch
and the game and all of the all the other games,
you know, the whole in one competition, the Longest Drive,
closest to the pin. And we're always seeking sponsors. If
(11:42):
someone wants to sponsor the tournament, get their name on
our banner and on our signs.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
We are happy to have that also, all right, phenomenal.
And what if somebody wants to just help out, but
they are maybe not of the golf persuasion, but they
want to donate to your cause or they want to
help out in any way.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Annaspals dot org there's right on the homepage. There's a click. Oh,
you can click a link if you'd like to support us.
We are really grateful for all the support we get.
It definitely takes a village to make this happen, I
believe it.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
All right. Well, Chris, thank you so much for all
you're doing for our kids, and I hope it's a
smashing success and the weather decides to behave for once
for your golf tournament, because these days you never know.
And thanks for being on the show.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Thanks again so much for joining us. I hope you
have a great start to the summer this weekend, and
please don't forget to 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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