Family of late Valley Streamer fundraises for Fantasy Day

Posted

About 65 people attended a Runs for Ronnie fundraiser on April 23 to commemorate the life of a late-Valley Streamer and raise money in his name.

“The fundraiser was a success,” said Madeline Biegner-Lazzara, the event’s organizer. “In the past three years we raised an average of about $3,000 from the Chinese auction event.”

Biegner-Lazzara said that her brother, Ronnie Biegner, who died of kidney cancer in 2011, was an avid Mets fan who loved to attend Fantasy Day at Fenway Park in Boston. The event asks participants to meet a fundraising goal to benefit the Jimmy Fund and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, which funds adult and pediatric cancer care and research to improve the chances of survival for cancer patients around the world. Those who meet their goal are allowed to hit and field baseballs on the field at Fenway.

In honor of her brother, Biegner-Lazzara said her family has continued the tradition. Biegner-Lazzara’s son, Andrew, and her brother George are planning on attending Fantasy Day in Boston on June 3. The family has created Runs for Ronnie Inc., an organization that will continue fundraising for the event in his name.

“Ronnie was a very generous person,” Biegner-Lazzara said. “He always made sure he took care of all of us. My kids called him Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny … He was more concerned with our happiness than his own.”