Monomoy Shootout Raises $800,000 For Diabetes Research

September 19, 2024

Scot Butcher, Michael MacAskill, Lilly Lashar, Gretchen Waldman (Boston Children's Hospital) and John Lashar at the Lillylulu Foundation's Awards dinner. COURTESY PHOTO

CHATHAM – The second annual Monomoy Shootout Fishing for a Cure fundraiser brought in close to $800,000.

The event is put on by the Lillylulu Foundation, which works to raise funds for people who are combating type 1 diabetes (T1D) in hopes of finding a cure through research and to address systemic deficiencies in care.

Several years ago, when John Lashar, a part-time Chatham resident and co-founder of the foundation, learned his 13-year-old daughter Lilly had T1D, he began raising funds to combat the disease. The LillyLuLu Foundation was formed in 2022 to support research, advocacy and community engagement to advance breakthroughs for T1D.

Outer Cape Health Services, Inc. received a major gift from The Lillylulu Foundation this year to establish an integrated and collaborative endocrine program to address T1D. The local nonprofit foundation contributed $100,000 to get the program started. The foundation has also made a major donation to Boston Children’s Hospital.

The fishing tournament took place on Aug.15 and 16 and drew 52 boats with more than 210 anglers. Three hundred guests attended the awards dinner and auction, held at Outermost Harbor Marine. A welcoming event was also held at the Red Nun the evening before the tournament.

The overall point and tournament champion was the vessel Tashtego with Captains Chris Lynch and Ben Crago. The largest striped bass was caught on Isla Grace, with Drew Downing as captain; the largest bluefish was caught on Next Chapter under captain Rick Leblanc; and the largest black sea bass was caught on Scrap Money under captain John Bassett.

The foundation reported a record $765,000 net had been raised by Sept. 6, but board of directors member Michael MacAskill said additional donations have since come in placing the contributions at close to $800,000.

“While this is not an easy endeavor, coming together as a group to make an impact on peoples’ lives keeps us motivated,” the Lillylulu Foundation board of directors said in a press release. “The realities of living withT1D, the struggles and inequity with care and the deficiencies with treating chronic disease, do not stop or go away. We remain deeply grounded and focused on our mission because of this.”