News and Events
2024 was a year of milestones, memories, and historic impact for transplant families at Gift of Life Howie’s House.
Despite it being one of our busiest years on record, we never scaled back on our services, never raised our nightly fee, or turned away a family due to financial hardship – all thanks to the support of our community!
We are so grateful to continue our mission year after year, and look forward to the year ahead!
Thank you to the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.-Omega Mu Omega Chapter for volunteering at the House on Martin Luther King Day for the sorority’s “We Are One” AKA Day of Service.
The group stocked the pantry with snacks and household essentials, organized and stored volunteer center donations, disposed of expired items, and prepared check-in packets and volunteer information bags!
Volunteers included living kidney donor Sue Levy Giles and her daughter Alexandria, who received a kidney transplant through a paired donor exchange involving her mom. Sue shared that the group “thoroughly enjoyed the meaningful projects we were given and hope that our efforts will contribute, even in a small way, to supporting the invaluable work your organization does for organ transplant recipients and their families.”
Major Milestone Alert!
Today, John and his group are celebrating their 100th visit of coming to cook in our kitchen! This is an amazing accomplishment and a true testament to the generosity and dedication of John and his group in serving transplant families at the House.
John Schmid and his volunteer group, “Friends of Bear”, are familiar faces here at the House. John, affectionately nicknamed, “Bear”, has been coming to cook in our kitchen since 2018. He started involving his family and friends, and has since become a prolific Home Cook Hero All-Star.
Thank you to the entire Friends of Bear community for your unwavering support of our mission!
We are excited to announce that the Transplant Information Center (TIC) Department at Gift of Life Donor Program has become the first department to earn the title of Home Cook Hero All-Star! This achievement recognizes TIC employees for volunteering their time to cook a meal for our families 12 times over the past year, earning their own All-Star plate in our kitchen!
A big thank you to the TIC Department for your dedication to serving transplant families at the House! Want to follow in their footsteps for 2025? Click here to schedule your Home Cook Hero dates now:
Our friends at the Transplant Alliance Foundation and Street Bingo recently held their 9th Annual Project Secret Santa event and generously donated $10,000 to support Gift of Life Howie’s House!
Father and daughter duo Ken Lovely and Danielle Bailey, along with support from Kenya Walker and many dedicated volunteers, run the Transplant Alliance Foundation in memory of their mother, wife, and friend, Mary Jo Lovely. Mary Jo co-founded the organization and was an avid advocate for organ donation, a DASH volunteer, and a recipient of two lung transplants. Mary Jo sadly passed away in 2021, and her family and community continue to run the Transplant Alliance Foundation to help raise funds for the House and other causes!
In addition to their recent successful Bingo fundraiser, our friends at the Transplant Alliance Foundation also held a wish-list drive to collect pantry staples for our guests at the House! Ken Lovely and Kenya Walker stopped by this week to donate their items, and we couldn’t be more grateful!
Thank you to Ken, Kenya, Danielle Bailey, and the entire State Street Bingo community for all you do for transplant patients and their families!
On the eve of Thanksgiving, the Neshaminy Ice Hockey community hosted its 7th Annual Gannon Cup in memory of Patrick Gannon and Phillip Oseredzuk.
This annual event honors two former ice hockey players who tragically passed away and went on to become organ donor heroes. This special fundraiser reached a new milestone, raising over $10,300 to support Gift of Life Howie’s House! This fundraiser continues to be a significant occasion within the Neshaminy ice hockey community, remembering Patrick and Phillip, and ensuring their legacy lives on for years to come.
With the funds raised, the event will once again sponsor a guest room at the House in memory of Patrick and Phillip. Thank you to this amazing community for its ongoing support of our mission.
Gift of Life Howie’s House is proud to announce that it was the recipient of a $40,000 grant this year from Philadelphia Phillies Charities, Inc!
The Phillies have been an important partner of Gift of Life for many years, and we are incredibly grateful for their continued support and dedication to transplant families, and to raising awareness about organ donation and transplantation. Staff members Abby Wells and Miranda Porter had the opportunity to attend a special event celebrating all the grantees and were thrilled to meet the Phillie Phanatic!
Thank you to Phillies Charities, Inc. for their support of our mission. Click here to read more about their generosity this year: https://ow.ly/7AAg50Ur0K8
From all of us at the House, THANK YOU!
Thanks to your generosity, we surpassed our goal of $40,000 this Giving Tuesday by $24,000! With the support of our generous matching gift partner, that brings the total Giving Tuesday revenue to a record-breaking $104,000 raised for transplant patients and their families!
This incredible achievement would not have been possible without the dedication and support of our community. Thank you to everyone who made a gift and hosted a fundraiser. Your contributions mean the world to the families who will stay with during the holidays, and throughout the year.
A special thank you to our matching gift partner, the Foxwynd Foundation, funded by their donor advised fund, for helping us double the impact for transplant families!
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at the House!
On this day of thanks, our hearts are full as we reflect on the impact our incredible community has had on transplant families this year. Your generosity makes our mission possible, and we could not be more grateful.
We hope that your day is spent gathered around the table, enjoying delicious food and treasured memories with loved ones. Thank you for your continued support of transplant patients and their families.
Gift of Life Howie’s House is excited to announce a new partnership with the Foxwynd Foundation!
The House was recently awarded a $40,000 matching gift from the Foxwynd Foundation for its upcoming Giving Tuesday campaign. This incredible partnership will allow the House to set its most ambitious goal for Giving Tuesday to date, and will match each individual gift, dollar for dollar, up to $40,000!
The Foxwynd Foundation is an organization based in Uwchlan, PA dedicated to providing a beacon of hope for communities in need with a focus on healthcare, housing and environmental initiatives. The mission of Gift of Life Howie’s House is to serve as a home away from home for transplant patients and their families by providing temporary, affordable lodging and supportive services to those who must travel to Philadelphia for transplant-related care.
Funds raised on Giving Tuesday and matched by the Foxwynd Foundation will support the Adopt-A-Family Program, which helps subsidize the actual cost of staying at the House to keep room fees low. The program also covers costs for families who cannot afford the $40 nightly fee, ensuring no family is ever turned away due to inability to pay.
“Foxwynd Foundation is proud to support Gift of Life Howie’s House in providing a comforting home-away-from-home for families during challenging medical treatments. We believe in creating meaningful partnerships that strengthen our community and bring hope to those in need,” says, Pamela Villagra, Executive Director of the Foxwynd Foundation.
The Foxwynd Foundation DAF funded the Foxwynd Foundation’s generous gift to Gift of Life Howie’s House.
The generosity of the Foxwynd Foundation and their Board of Trustees provides an exciting opportunity to set the House’s largest Giving Tuesday fundraising goal to date. The Foundation’s matching gift has given the potential to raise an additional $40,000 on Giving Tuesday – bringing the potential funds raised to $80,000.
The House is excited about this new partnership and looks forward to leveraging the Foxwynd Foundation’s gift this Giving Tuesday, December 3rd.
News & Events
Stay Connected
Sign up to receive email updates featuring transplant stories of hope and ways you can get involved with the Howie's House.
"*" indicates required fields
