JUN. 2022: TWENTY YEARS OF TEAM TODD – THE SCHWARTZ FAMILY’S

Photo By: Rick Bern Photography

It was the character Luna Lovegood who said in Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix, “Things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end, if not always in the way you expect.”

Loss is jarring, ten times over when that loss is untimely. Nearly twenty years ago, on November 19, 2002, the Westwood community lost one of its finest young men when Todd Schwartz, the beloved son of John and Janet, and cherished brother of Laura and Amy, succumbed to rhabdomyosarcoma months into his sophomore year at UMass Amherst.

While we respectfully and solemnly acknowledge that chapter of the story, painful and personal to so many, we shift seamlessly to how Todd has indeed come back, ten times over in ways never expected by his family, friends and a community that reaches from Massachusetts to Florida and beyond.

“Team Todd” was born shortly after Todd’s diagnosis, with a goal of raising money for the fight against cancer. Todd’s Mom, Janet, who taught kindergarten at Martha Jones Elementary for more than twenty years, was the first team member.

“It was a team of one,” said Janet when reflecting back to the first time she participated in the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk. “Todd didn’t want the fanfare, but he was there at all the checkpoints, cheering me on along the way.”

In the two decades since, that team of one has grown exponentially in size and impact, with Janet’s infectious passion driving the success of the mission.

“I work as a TV writer and a note I often get for scripts I write is that ‘the mom character doesn’t seem believable,’” said Todd’s younger sister, Amy, Westwood High School Class of 2004. “I laugh every single time, before kindly explaining that this is the only way I know how to describe a mom, based on my own, and that she truly is that amazing in real life. As the leading lady in our family, she has been an example of strength, love, selflessness, optimism, humor, generosity and independence. She has taught us that the best thing she could ever give us is the confidence to tackle anything that comes our way. She’s someone you can count on in any scenario and has always believed that we are capable of anything we put our minds to. She gave Todd that strength, which I believe helped him fight longer than expected.”

While Janet has taken center stage in the fight against cancer, inspiring many to join her cause, and her team, she certainly doesn’t work alone.

“My mom has done so much to support other mothers who have faced cancer in their families and my dad has supported her in doing so,” said Todd’s older sister, Laura, Westwood High School Class of 1998. “They are both my heroes for so many reasons.”

“My dad is such an incredibly gentle, listening ear, who is sensitive and kind, thoughtful and understanding, and also hilarious,” said Amy. “He’s an amazing example of what a husband and father should be, and watching him be the most supportive partner to my mom throughout their experience of losing a child has changed my life forever. I remember hearing something about how a lot of married couples don’t make it through a loss like this, and the statistics aren’t great, but the way my parents took this on together, as a team, has shaped me as an adult, as a wife, and as a friend. This experience could have broken us, but it made us stronger.”

During Todd’s fight with cancer, the Red Sox and The Jimmy Fund were petitioning state officials to have a special license plate created to benefit the Red Sox Foundation and The Jimmy Fund. Todd was asked to be the patient spokesperson as the team made its pitch at the State House. He couldn’t believe he was sharing the stage with Red Sox Hall of Famer Johnny Pesky.

“He got to try on one of Johnny’s massive rings,” said Laura. “Todd was such a devoted Red Sox fan he would schedule his treatments around the Sox home calendar. He figured he was already in Boston for treatment, so he might as well get to a game if he was feeling well enough to attend.”

“There was another group petitioning the Commonwealth that day, Hell’s Angels,” said Janet. “When Todd finished speaking, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. They gave him a standing ovation! He got to choose his own license plate and he chose “RS 54,” which combined his love for the Sox and Tedy Bruschi.”

“Every time I see one of those license plates on the road, I smile and think about that day and how courageous Todd was to stand up in front of so many people and share his story,” said Laura.

When Todd passed, shortly before Thanksgiving in 2002, the news was absorbed by the Westwood community with great sorrow and while some struggled, not knowing how best to show their support for the Schwartz family, others stepped up immediately, in powerful ways.

The most impactful was the introduction of the TJS Softball Classic, a mainstay in Westwood for more than a decade, beginning in 2003. Hundreds of people filled the fields at Westwood High School and the Senior Center, playing softball all day, eating food, laughing and remembering their friend while raising money in his honor. Close to $500,000 was raised for The Jimmy Fund through the TJS Softball Classic.

“The kids from Todd’s camp, Camp Tel Noar, were the ones who started the softball tournament,” said Janet. “They decided that something had to be done as a memorial and become a part of his legacy. Playing softball was something that Todd loved to do.”

“We thought they were crazy. Really? Who’s going to come do this? Next thing we knew they had raised $20,000 in a day and we were stunned. From there, it took off!”

The Schwartz’s reserved a portion of the money from the first TJS Softball Classic to fund an annual scholarship at Westwood High School. The remainder was sent to The Jimmy Fund. The family trusted that Lisa Scherber, the Director of Patient and Family Programs at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, would put it to good use. Todd and Lisa had spent time together and it was Todd who convinced Lisa that teens fighting cancer had to be treated differently than younger kids. He suggested a trip to Red Sox Spring Training would be a great perk for teens being treated at Dana-Farber.

Using those TJS Softball funds, Scherber orchestrated the inaugural Red Sox Spring Training trip. Many of Todd’s closest friends served as chaperones to the younger patients. Together, they interacted with many Red Sox players who would later go on to win the franchise’s first World Series championship since 1918.

The program has grown exponentially over the years and thrives to this day. Each spring, approximately 30 Dana-Farber patients, with their nurses and doctors, fly to Florida for an incredible few days at Fenway South.

Meanwhile, Team Todd continues to participate in The Jimmy Fund Walk, and they’ll be back on the Marathon trail this fall, trekking from Hopkinton to Boylston Street. Since 2002, Team Todd has raised more than $1.5 million. At one point, Todd’s grandfather was among the oldest participants, and now Todd’s nieces and nephews carry on the legacy.

“My kids hear stories about Todd all the time,” said Laura. “It’s important to me that they know as much about him as possible. We’ve made sure that they always feel comfortable talking about him and asking us questions. As they get older, those questions change and it’s important to me that the door is always open for them to share whatever is on their minds.

“They are all registered walkers in The Jimmy Fund Walk and they take an immense amount of pride in fundraising for Team Todd. They know Todd’s oncologist and they know that we walk to raise money for his laboratory where incredible research is conducted every day.”

Amy’s thoughts on her family’s commitment reflect the attitude shared by her sister and parents.

“We saw no other path but to take on Todd’s attitude and continue his efforts to change the ending to this story for everyone,” said Amy. “It’s not about us. It’s about other families just like us who need support. It’s about the families who don’t have a cancer diagnosis and we hope with our fundraising efforts that they never will. It’s about showing other families that you can turn dark times into a bright, shining light. It’s about honoring my brother and the unbelievable mark he left on this world in such a short amount of time.

“Each year, we are continually amazed by how much money pours in to support research at the lab run by my brother’s brilliant doctor, Dr. Loren Walensky, who quickly went from doctor to honorary Schwartz over the years. These donations aren’t coming from large corporate donors. They are coming from people in our Westwood community, our summer camp community, our friends and family near and far. Each donation, big or small, makes a huge difference. Maybe we’d rather be known for just about anything else, but the reality is, this happened to us. We suffered an unimaginable loss that will affect us forever, but it’s what we do with that loss that might be able to help other people and that is so important. If what we do helps other families who are grieving or battling, and gives them some hope while getting us one step closer to a cure, we will never stop this fight. We do it all for Todd.”

“My sister and I have been part of several different communities as our lives have changed in that span of time,” said Laura. “We’ve always felt most comfortable sharing our family’s story wherever we go because Todd is an important part of us and always will be. As our lives change, we make the active choice to tell new friends, neighbors, teachers, and co-workers about our incredible brother. We know that community helps us heal and that sharing our experience of losing a sibling, especially someone as dynamic and vibrant as Todd, may help others heal too. It’s what Todd would want. To us, community is about feeling supported in moments of celebration and in moments of grief.”

Todd continues to find a way to come back, if not always in the way we expect.