Thursday, November 1st
4:00pm - 6:00pm

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Join us for food, drinks and networking featuring former NFL Player, Joe Andruzzi.
 

Born in Brooklyn, NY, but raised in Staten Island, Joe Andruzzi is a former NFL offensive guard.  He played football at Tottenville High School, and went on to play college ball at Southern Connecticut State University.  Andruzzi proved himself a Division II All-American his junior and senior years as well as an offensive captain his senior season, being able to play every position on the offensive line.
 

In 1997, Andruzzi was picked up as an undrafted free agent by the Green Bay Packers and then in February 1998 played football in Scotland for NFL Europe.  He was released from the Packers after three seasons before being picked up as an offensive guard by the New England Patriots in 2000, where he went on to play five seasons and earn three Super Bowl rings.  In 2005 he was signed by the Cleveland Browns and played with them for two seasons.

In 2001, Joe and his wife, Jen, were introduced to C.J. Buckley, who had an inoperable brain tumor.  The two families became very close and Andruzzi helped launch the C.J. Buckley Brain Cancer Research Fund at Children’s Hospital.  In recognition of his contributions, he received the Ed Block Courage award in 2002 and the first Ron Burton Community Service award in 2003.

On May 30, 2007, Joe was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Burkitt’s lymphoma, predicted to double in size within 24 hours. The family relocated back to New England and Joe had an aggressive chemotherapy treatment over three months at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital.  He admirably fought the disease with strength and courage.  Joe’s last treatment was on August 6, 2007.  Joe has been in remission since then and lives a healthy life with Jen, their five children, and their two dogs.  Together, Joe and Jen run the Joe Andruzzi Foundation, which is tackling cancer’s impact by providing financial assistance for patients and their families as well as funding pediatric brain cancer research.