Last modified: Sunday, September 7, 2008 2:34 AM EDT North Attleboro's Jill Meyer displays some sports memorabilia she will be auctioning off at a benefit. (Staff photo by MIKE GEORGE) Lending a helping hand BY MARK FARINELLA SUN CHRONICLE STAFF NORTH ATTLEBORO - If you've ever doubted that the NFL has a heart, consider the fact that big-name stars such as Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Jeff Garcia, Ray Lewis and Ben Roethlisberger have sent autographed items of memorabilia to a home in North Attleboro to help raise funds for a little boy with a terrible illness whom they've never met. Brandon DePaolo, the 4-year-old middle child in a family of three children, is waging the battle of his young life. He's currently in treatment for stage 3 neuroblastoma, the most common form of cancer afflicting infants and young children. He's undergone six rounds of chemotherapy, endured a 12-hour surgical procedure to remove about 80 percent of his tumors, and would have already had a bone marrow transplant if not for a viral infection that has set his treatment back and returned him to the hospital. But he's not alone in his battle. Jill Meyer of North Attleboro is the daughter of long-time NFL assistant coach Paul Boudreau, a member of Pete Carroll's coaching staff with the Patriots from 1997-98. Meyer's 4-year-old son, Zach, befriended Brandon when they were both students at the Top of the Hill Nursery School in North Attleboro. And when Boudreau, now the offensive line coach of the Atlanta Falcons, learned of the plight of his grandson's buddy, he called in a lot of markers. With Boudreau's help over the past three months, Meyer was able to amass more than 30 raffle items and 17 items of top-shelf sports memorabilia to be auctioned off at a fund-raising dinner planned for this coming Friday, Sept. 12, at the North Attleboro Elks Club. "Brandon's just such a great kid," Meyer said Thursday. "He's very quiet and very shy, but once he gets to know you, he just won't stop talking. And they're such a very nice family and things have been so hard, with the treatments and all of the expenses of being at the hospitals, it's just something I wanted to do. "I just wanted, with all the connections I have, to be able to get them at least a little bit of money so they won't have to stress about paying the electric bill, or so they can get a little toy for Brandon if he wants something, or so they can just pay for the gas on those rides to Hasbro, or Children's (Hospital)," she said. Meyer said that "100 percent" of the proceeds from the auctioned items and raffles will go to Brandon's mother, Terri, a single mom who's raising a 5-year-old and an infant as well as Brandon. The lineup of items up for auction is impressive, to say the least. Included are signed footballs from Brady, Eli Manning, Falcons' rookie QB Matt Ryan, Favre, Garcia, Lewis, Roethlisberger, Rams' quarterback Marc Bulger and Rams' wide receiver Torry Holt. Patriots' linebacker Tedy Bruschi has contributed an autographed copy of his recent book, NASCAR racer Jeff Gordon contributed a signed cap, there's a sweater signed by every member of the 2007 Edmonton Oilers, and Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning has signed a Wheaties box that commemorated his team's 2006 Super Bowl championship. A signed football from Dallas QB Tony Romo is also expected shortly, and there will be raffles for tickets to Red Sox, Patriots and Bruins games. Aside from having such a tragedy strike one's own family, Meyer said, there may be no more difficult circumstance for a youngster to understand than a life-threatening illness to a best friend. "Zach knows Brandon is sick," she said. "He knows Brandon goes to the hospital and we can't see him that often. He knows they gave him medicine to make his blond hair fall out. He used to have a beautiful head of blond hair, and now he has a few strands. "Zach knows he has cancer," she added, "but he's not sure what that means." Meyer said she hopes that at least 100 people will be able to attend the event at the Elks Club, but she's facing a deadline of early this week to inform the caterers of her needs, and the response to date has fallen short of what she had hoped. "It's been so hard for them," Meyer said of Brandon's family. "I just wanted to help ... I called my dad and told him about Brandon, and he did all the calling for me. He spoke with a coach from the Ravens last week and the Ray Lewis ball showed up a few days later. Everybody in the league has been very helpful." Now, she hopes the community will follow suit. The event will run from 7 p.m. to midnight Friday at the North Attleboro Elks Club, 52 Bulfinch St. Admission is $20 for an Italian dinner, disc jockey and dancing, and the raffles and memorabilia auction. Tickets may be purchased at the Elks Club, L.A. Robert's restaurant in North Attleboro, the Falls A.C. in Attleboro Falls and the Pan City Grille in Plainville, or by contacting Meyer at 508-254-3709. MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com. Read Farinella's blog, "Blogging Fearlessly," at thesunchronicle.com/farinella.