It's Devin Suau Week In Framingham

FRAMINGHAM, MA — It may be Thursday, but it's a new week in Framingham, a week in which the community honors someone lost to pediatric cancer.

Mayor Charlie Sisitsky officially declared Oct. 20 through Oct. 27 as Devin Suau Week in Framingham.

Suau was a Framingham resident who passed away at the age of six due to Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), a rare form of pediatric cancer. Each year, the City remembers Suau and his impact through a proclamation declaring Devin Suau Week, lighting up City Hall green and various posts asking the public to perform acts of kindness in his memory.

Sisitsky made the announcement at a morning ceremony on Wednesday at Stapleton Elementary School. At the ceremony, he and First Lady Robin Kaye presented a proclamation to Christine Soutter and Brendan Suau, Devin’s mother and brother, as well as Stapleton Elementary School officials.

Following the ceremony, where Suau’s mother in turn donated the citation to Stapleton Elementary, the Mayor, First Lady, and Soutter read Suau’s favorite books to the three kindergarten classes.

As is tradition during the week, Framingham officials challenge residents to perform acts of kindness in Suau's honor. To get the ball rolling, Sisitsky and Kaye presented each kindergarten class with a gift of Suau's two favorite books and weighted blankets for their comfort corners.

“It is my honor to declare Devin Suau Week here in Framingham. Devin’s courageous story is one that should be continuously remembered. Through his life, he helped show what a strong, connected, and kind community Framingham is at its core,” said Sisitsky.

“His memory continues to make our community, and the world, a better, kinder place through awareness of DIPG and act of kindness campaign.”

The Oct. 20 date recognizes the day Suau died, which was only seven days short of his seventh birthday, Oct. 27.

In response to his passing, Suau's family set up “The WhyNotDevin Foundation to End DIPG”. The goal of the foundation is to help alleviate a part of the financial burden this diagnosis carries for families.