In line with a true social movement and long before the days of community, political, or financial support, the Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth, known more commonly as BAGLY was founded by LGBTQ+ youth. Since1980, BAGLY has operated as a youth-led, adult-supported social support organization, committed to social justice and creating, sustaining, and advocating for programs, policies, and services for the LGBTQ+ youth community. 

What began as the story of one man’s family is today the story of many families working together toward a common goal – better treatments and a cure for a disease that threatens our most precious resource – our children. Cooley’s Anemia or Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder that reduces the production of functional hemoglobin (the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen).

The Boston Bulldogs Running Club is a true success story in every sense of the sentiment. Coach Mike Ferullo began this journey as an 8th-grade dropout, 15-year old drug user, hooked on heroin by age 17, in and out of detox, and sometimes jail until at age 22. From this experience, volunteering, and returning to finish his education, in 2015, he established the Boston Bulldogs Running Club for all those adversely affected by addiction.