Big Papi Joins Effort To Help Parents Whose Kids Have Cancer
BOSTON (CBS) - David Ortiz is hitting a home run even when the Red Sox aren't playing. He joined a team of all-star Boston chefs to raise money for Family Reach.
The group helps parents whose kids have cancer deal with the financial burdens that come with the disease. Mortgage payments. Car payments. Debts.
"You don't think about the financial burden cancer is. It is the number one cause of bankruptcy in the country today," says Chef Ming Tsai.
Tsai was introduced to Family Reach when the group approached him about a sick girl's dying wish—to dine, with her family at Tsai's restaurant, Blue Ginger.
He immediately fulfilled that wish and was so impressed with the family's love for Family Reach, that he joined the group's Board of Directors.
Now, he hosts "Cooking Live" dinners all over the country.
Ortiz served as his sous chef for the Boston event at the Ritz. Chef Tsai and Papi created a Dominican-influenced Steelhead Trout dish with Papi's pineapple salsa.
Ortiz told WBZ-TV's Lisa Hughes that his father's cancer is in remission and that he is doing well. He added, "We all need to get united and try to do something about this. An event like this—it gets no better than being a part of it."
In Boston, Family Reach partners with three local hospitals: Tufts, Mass General and Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
For more information, go to www.familyreach.org