Forty-seven children are diagnosed with cancer every day. For the last decade, TCNJam has worked to lower that number through fundraising and other initiatives with the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation, which provides financial and emotional support for families of kids battling cancer.
Earlier this month, TCNJam capped off their year-long campaign that raised $130,211 with a six-hour dance party in Packer Hall. Over 300 attendees danced to music provided by two TCNJ student DJs, and celebrated together with other activities like a Battle of the Bands, a talent show, games, craft vendors, and food trucks.
To hit this year’s record-breaking number, TCNJam has hosted a variety of fundraising events throughout the year including a flag football tournament, a 5k run, and a blood drive. The single most successful event, which raised $55,000, was “Team Up with TCNJam,” in which different student organizations — including Alpha Chi Rho, Tap Ensemble, and Girl Gains — competed to raise the most money in a single week.
Since the student group’s inception 10 years ago, TCNJam has raised nearly $685,000 for the foundation. But TCNJam’s involvement with the B+ Foundation reaches far beyond fundraising.
Through the foundation’s B+ Heroes Program, student organizations on campus are matched with a child battling cancer — a B+ Hero. So far, four TCNJ organizations have been matched with B+ Heroes.
Last year’s top fundraising team, Theta Phi Alpha, was matched with Charlotte, a four-year-old battling leukemia. With Charlotte, the sorority sisters play hide-and-seek and tag, color and craft, and meet all of her stuffed animals.
“Charlotte became my ‘why’ as soon as I got to know her and her family,” says Sophia Katsouris ’25, TCNJam’s campus engagement director and member of Theta Phi Alpha. “Our Heroes make everything real for us, giving us inspiration and more motivation to fundraise and increase awareness about their fight.”
“It is truly something special what we do at TCNJam,” says Emma Duffy ’24, TCNJam’s executive director. “We are the one organization across campus that brings together a huge portion of the student body to change our small corner of the world. We are college students who dedicate our lives to TCNJam, so that kids battling cancer will grow up to live beautiful lives.”
The Andrew McDonough B+ (Be Positive) Foundation honors the life of Andrew McDonough. Andrew battled leukemia, septic shock and complications of childhood cancer for 167 days before passing away on July 14, 2007, at the age of 14. Andrew’s B+ blood type became his family and friends’ motto throughout his fight against childhood cancer — to “Be Positive.”
— Corinne Coakley ’25