Northville Township Cop Seeks Support Raising Money for American Cancer Society

Because of the impact cancer has had on the lives of his friends and family, Northville Township police officer James Beamish is fund-raising to fight the disease.

"As I started doing this, I realized there’s a whole lot of people in my life that I didn’t realize are struggling with cancer," the 45-year-old said. "I'm running in support of and in memory of several people."

His sister is a cancer survivor and his wife has lost family members to the disease. He also knows fellow officers affected by cancer.

Beamish will run 26 miles for the American Cancer Society's (ACS) DetermiNation team in the Detroit Free Press Talmer Bank Marathon on Oct. 21. He said he is hoping to raise $1,000 and is close to his goal.

"I figured if people could struggle through chemotherapy and cancer the least I could do is run a marathon to help them with their struggles," Beamish said.

This will be his first marathon. He is training hard, running 50 miles a week, while working as a township police officer. He has also learned that the fund-raising is turning out to be harder than the running.

"It is an undertaking. When I first started, I thought I was crazy," he said.

Beamish is teaming up with Aubree's Pizzeria of Northville on Oct. 15, from 5 p.m to 8:30 p.m, to raise money for the ACS. The restaurant will offer an all you can eat pizza buffet for $15 and $5 will go to the ACS. Kids under 10 can eat for $10, and the ACS will receive $3.

To make a donation to support Beamish, visit his website at http://main.acsevents.org/goto/RunningBeam.