Kicks for Cancer, the current top fundraiser of the Junior Jimmy Fundraisers, held its annual fall sports event at Concord Carlisle during the weekend of September 27th, marking it’s 19th year of raising funds and awareness for ovarian cancer research. Since the start of this event, this year over one million dollars raised towards helping find a cure.
The event itself was created in 2007 by one of the men’s soccer coaches, Ray Pavlik (head coach of men’s soccer) who sympathized with another coach, Steve Wells (his assistant coach), who unfortunately lost his mother, Lois Wells, to ovarian cancer. Ever since the launch of the first event, this event at Concord-Carlisle High School has sparked community and joy in the school. Coach Pavlik shares his gratitude for “how this has become a full community event.” Kicks for Cancer has equally been ranked the number one event hosted at CCHS by students for multiple years in a row. Over 20 teams participate, and with that brings hundreds of community members and spectators, coming to enjoy the exciting events of the weekend.
Excitingly, the Kick’s For Cancer website goes on to share that the “community-wide commitment [has] collectively… contributed over $2 million to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital since 2007”. All profits are donated to the public and private Dana-Farber Cancer Institute foundation, supporting cancer research. People who come to the event are encouraged to make donations, big or small. Coach Wells comments on the donations made: “All of this support and generosity means a tremendous amount of money raised for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, specifically the lab of Dr. Dipanjan Chowdhury’s research into the early detection of Ovarian Cancer. I am always amazed, but never surprised, at how our community rallies together to fight cancer each year!”
Photo curtesy of The Defy Cancer fund campaign at a Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Every year, the last game of the Kicks for Cancer event includes the Concord-Carlisle men’s soccer team, who faces their rivals Lincoln-Sudbury in a competition for revenge. In this final game, spirits are higher than ever. Going two years in a row now, LS has taken victory in the match.
Photo curtesy of the Kicks for Cancer website
Although Kicks for Cancer is competitive, students acknowledge that it builds community and spreads joy. One student even admitted that they were “only there to socialize in the student section,” going on to say that they “don’t really care about what goes on in the field.” Each year, the student section goes wild; students go as far as painting their entire faces with pink paint, and sometimes even their bodies. This year, over 600 youth soccer players were also wearing pink. Coach Wells comments “Community members wearing pink the day before is just a small example of how community-based this event is, not to mention the turnout on the day of the event.” Overall, this event has drastically changed the school dynamic of fostering community and cultivating greater school spirit.
Photo curtesy of The Concord Bridge
For more information about this event, feel free to check out previous Kicks for Cancer articles and resources:
1. https://www.kicksforcancer.org
2. Previous Voice article coverage and interviews:
4. https://concordbridge.org/index.php/2025/10/27/kicks-for-cancer-donations-top-1m/
6. https://www.jimmyfund.org/get-involved/events/kicks-cancer
