Tennis players raise thousands for “Be The Match” in honor of friend with Leukemia

June 2, 2019 5:27 pm

By: Amanda Pitts

alpitts@abc6.com

@APittsABC6

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WLNE) – A special celebration Sunday at Slater Park, as a Barrington man battling Leukemia, has found his bone marrow match. Now, he’s raising money to help other patients find theirs.

“Jean-Paul is a dear friend to all of us, who was diagnosed with leukemia last summer,” said friend Matt Leffers.

The worst news came to one Barrington family last summer. 39-year-old Jean-Paul Dujardin, a husband and father of three, began the fight for his life last July.

“I was just gonna fight the hardest I could, and I really felt a lot of support,” said Dujardin.

That support was on display Sunday at the Slater Park tennis courts. Forty of his closes tennis buddies got together to play, celebrate Dujardin, and raise money for “Be The Match”, an organization that helps match cancer patients to bone marrow donors.

The organization found Dujardin a donor at the start of this year, a 31-year-old man from Germany. His donation was packed on ice and flown across the Atlantic to be implanted into Dujardin that very same day.

Now, just over 100 days post-transplant, Dujardin is still recovering but is feeling better every day.

“As long as you’re moving in the right direction, it feels good. Things like this really boost your spirit.”

He and his friends have already raised over $3,000 for Be The Match, and hope to also spread the word that it doesn’t take much to donate, and you might just save a life.

Click here for more information on the organization.