Howie’s House
Each year, members of Gift of Life Howie’s House community hold Facebook fundraisers to raise money for our mission of being a “home away from home” for transplant families. Some people give up their birthdays and ask their Facebook friends to donate to our cause in lieu of gifts, and others fundraise in honor or memory of a loved one. Whatever the reason, we are extremely grateful for each and every one!
Hosting a Facebook fundraiser is an easy, fun, quick way to support our mission. It’s also a great way to get your friends involved and share your story to your community.
Signing up is easy! Simply click the link below, set your goal, share your story, and press “create” to share with your friends and family!
Join the many others who have already supported us and set up your Facebook fundraiser today!
One June morning, Joseph Mansaray woke up and found it difficult to breathe. His father, Peter, took him to the hospital where a chest x-ray revealed he had an enlarged heart. His doctor explained to him that the small, local hospital would not be able to help and had Joseph and his father transferred in an ambulance to another where he was admitted and spent 12 days in the ICU.
After several more tests, doctors there also felt there was nothing they could do to help Joseph. He and his father were transferred again, this time by helicopter, to a world renowned hospital in Philadelphia. Here, doctors were able to diagnose Joseph with cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle which makes it difficult for the organ to pump blood, and told him that he may need a transplant. Joseph’s mother, Mary, was also recently diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and was just beginning her transplant journey.
Doctors gave Joseph a left ventricular assist device, or an L-VAD, to help pump blood throughout his body, hoping it would strengthen his heart enough to later be removed. After surgery, Joseph was discharged to the Howie’s House where he and his father stayed during his recovery. His mother remained at home with his other siblings. A few weeks later, after three months in three different hospitals, Joseph and his father were able to join them. Life, however, wasn’t the same—Joseph couldn’t go to school, run, or play soccer.
That fall, Joseph returned to Philadelphia for a follow-up appointment where doctors found the L-VAD had not worked like they had hoped. Joseph’s heart was not healing and the next course of treatment was a heart transplant. Around this time, Mary had received her precious gift of life, but unfortunately, suffered major complications. She passed away in November 2015.
“Watching my mom’s transplant and what happened to her after was so hard for me. I was so sad that my mom had passed and also so scared that this was going to happen to me,” Joseph says.
Thankfully, his dad was there to support him.
“[Joseph] never complained. And as a dad and a caregiver, watching my son go through what he went through and handle it with such grace. It helped me. It really helped me,” Peter says.
In February 2016, Joseph received “the call” and was gifted a new heart thanks to a charitable act by a selfless donor. His recovery went smoothly, and 10 days after his surgery, he was discharged to the Howie’s House with his father once more.
“The House made life easier for me and my family during this time and I am very grateful for that,” Joseph says.
After a few more weeks, Joseph was able to return home. He was able to play soccer during his senior year of high school. Now he also plays in college.
“I thank everyone at the Howie’s House for all the good work they do every day and all that they have done for my family,” Joseph says. “They helped us through some of the hardest times in our lives, giving us somewhere to sleep, connecting us to other transplant families and donor families, and helping us when life was falling apart.”
“When the helicopter landed at the hospital in Philadelphia, I was alone with my son,” Peter explains. “I was afraid, worried, confused…but by the time we left [the Howie’s House], I left with a whole family.”
Peter is just one of the many strong husbands and fathers who stay at the Howie’s House. This Father’s Day, you can give them one less thing to worry about so they can focus on supporting their families and each other through such difficult times. Please consider making a gift to help support the fathers and sons like Peter and Joseph undergoing the transplant journey, or in honor of an important male figure in your life.
Click here to give!
Sovereign Insurance Group of Devon, PA, a longtime partner of Gift of Life, made a generous gift to support our mission of providing a “home away from home” to transplant patients and their families.
The group underwrote the South Porch on the front side of our building.
“I’m so thankful for the folks who had the vision to make Gift of Life Howie’s House a reality,” says Mark, an employee with Sovereign Insurance Group who understands how our mission impacts families. “My family and I were the beneficiaries of a similar vision when my mom was hospitalized for an extended period of time at West Virginia University Hospital and a number of us stayed at the Rosenbaum Howie’s House in Morgantown, WV. It’s such a blessing to have a warm and friendly place to stay when you’re otherwise totally stressed out and far from home. Thanks for all you do!”
His co-worker, Eric, adds: “Having the Gift of Life Howie’s House available to the families and loved ones of patients is truly a blessing beyond words. Sovereign Insurance Group is honored to help make “a home away from home” a reality for the transplant patient families who need the supportive and caring services you provide. Our heartfelt thanks to all the staff and many volunteers who help make the Howie’s House a reality.”
We’d like to thank Sovereign Insurance Group for supporting our initiatives to give transplant families one less thing to worry about. Thanks to you, we can continue providing our services to create a comfortable, safe, and warm place for them to stay!
“There are a lot of misconceptions in the African American community about organ donation,” Keith Chalmers reflects. “People know very little about organ transplantation and I want to change that.”
Keith’s passion for organ donation awareness started with his own transplant journey about 7 years ago when he visited his family doctor for what he thought was just a bad cough. However, the cough didn’t get better. Over the course of two years, Keith was diagnosed with pneumonia, emphysema, and finally, COPD. Eventually, Keith’s journey led him to be placed on the organ waiting list.
Keith is very thankful to his pharmacist who first introduced him to the Gift of Life Howie’s House, where he stayed for four days in 2013 for testing at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He was listed for a lung transplant. Keith received his precious gift of life from a selfless donor in March of 2015. Now, he stays at the House every 3 months for follow-up appointments.
“Without the Gift of Life Howie’s House, I wouldn’t have had a place to stay. I don’t think I could ever repay the folks there,” he says. “Everyone is so polite. If I didn’t live so far away, I’d be there volunteering every day. I’d help drive the van and clean up the house. Whatever I could do, I’d do.”
Keith is able, however, to volunteer every year during Gift of Life Donor Program’s Donor Dash.
Keith also spends a lot of time educating people about organ donation, specifically in minority neighborhoods. “Knowledge of the entire process is less common in these areas,” he says. “Not many African Americans know what organ donation really means or how it works. It isn’t advocated in the media enough.”
He keeps literature about organ donation in the back of his car, stands on line at the supermarket and asks people if they are donors, hangs banners outside his home, and even sets up a Q&A table outside his house in the summer to engage people walking by. Last Christmas, he helped 50 people register as donors.
He is extremely grateful for his precious gift. “Somebody saved my life,” he says. “Because of that, I’ll be out there, educating one person at a time.”
Do you remember when we asked you to write an encouraging note to our transplant families as a part of our Welcome Them Home campaign?
Last fall, we set out to collect 1,000 encouraging messages from caring people like you to transplant patients and their families.
We had these notes sewn together into a beautiful welcome banner that is now hanging in our dining room to welcome our transplant families home after long, hard days at the hospital.
It is our hope that these words of encouragement, wisdom, and strength will bring hope to our guests during a difficult journey and that support from our community will bring them joy and peace.
Some of the notes read:
“Welcome to warm hospitality, a comfy bed, warm meals, and a listening ear.” –Lorraine
“You are strong and courageous.” –Anonymous
“Stay strong. The people who work here and the other families will be your greatest support.” –Anita
“This is your home to find comfort in and share with those who understand.” –Rob
“There is hope and love, much of it found right here. Ne strong, never give up!” –Tibor
“Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations here at the Howie’s House. Welcome.” –Ed
“You’re patient and loving.” –Anonymous
“Hang in there. Things will get better. Never lose hope.” –Mary Ellen
Thanks to you, we can remind our transplant families of the support they have. No one’s transplant journey will be exactly the same, but finding ways to support one another is a crucial part of helping our families feel comfortable, safe, and supported.
Thank you for being part of such an inspiring project!
More than half of our guests depend on our free, regularly scheduled shuttle service to travel back and forth from the Howie’s House to area transplant centers. This past year, more than 4,600 guests climbed aboard our six-passenger minivan driven by our devoted volunteer drivers. But on too many of those trips, guests were turned away because it was full.
The minivan also has limited cargo space for stowing oxygen tanks and wheelchairs needed by transplant patients. And squeezing into the back row of seats can be challenging or impossible for some of our guests.
With your help, we can make it easier for our guests to get to area transplant centers and #HelpShuttleHope
To meet the increased need for shuttle service as our occupancy grows, and to better provide for our guests’ comfort and wellbeing, the Howie’s House must purchase a new 11-passenger vehicle. Getting on and off will be made easier and faster by its bus-style folding door, low steps, a center aisle, and raised roof. Its larger capacity will enable us to adjust the schedule so drivers have more time to complete their runs and stay on time. It will also have a larger cargo area.
Our new shuttle will cost more than $50,000, not including gas, maintenance, and insurance. We are asking everyone in our Howie’s House community to please consider helping us make this a reality.
By supporting the purchase of the new passenger van, you will help to ensure that our shuttle service continues to meet the needs of Howie’s House guests. Transportation is an important part of the comprehensive services provided within our modest $40 nightly lodging fee. Charitable contributions to the Howie’s House make this possible.
Less stress and cost for guests
In addition to comfort and convenience, the shuttle helps transplant families save on the cost of parking and gas, which can add up to hundreds of dollars a month, and relieves them of the burden of city driving.
“Most of our guests aren’t familiar with Philadelphia and so they have no idea how to get to the transplant centers. They get overwhelmed by the traffic. And they’re already overwhelmed by their own situation. We’re trying to make it easier for them by providing these door to door transportation services,” says Joe Kauffman, Howie’s House Operations Manager.
No one could agree more than Diane Hems who stayed at the Howie’s House while her husband, Don, was waiting for his gift of life, a lung transplant. “Having the shuttle service available alleviated my stress and fears of getting lost in the city. Each day, the volunteer driver safely dropped me off at the hospital and then brought me back to the Howie’s House at the end of the day. There are no words to describe how grateful we are for the services provided.”
Claudia Fernandez often took the shuttle when her young son, Josh, was undergoing a lung transplant. “I liked it because I didn’t have to deal with traffic. It’s not easy driving around Philly when you’re not from there. I found it so convenient and helpful.”
Every ride a healing journey
The backbone of the Howie’s House shuttle service is our devoted volunteer drivers who last year made more than 1,500 trips and drove over 19,000 miles, expertly navigating city traffic and getting our guests to doctors’ appointments and hospital visits.
There are a dozen volunteer drivers who either work regular part-time shifts or who fill in when needed. Most of them are transplant recipients or have been family caregivers. They enjoy interacting with our guests and helping them through experiences they have in common.
John Branton has been a Howie’s House volunteer driver for five years and a volunteer speaker for Gift of Life Donor Program since he received a liver transplant 10 years ago. He drives two days a week, taking the afternoon shift when guests are usually returning to the Howie’s House.
Now retired, John was a small business owner and insurance executive. He says that he often shares with guests how the transplant enabled him to return to a normal life.
“The conversations that go on in the shuttle are oftentimes very emotional,” says John. “Not everyone winds up with a good outcome. So those kinds of conversations are tough. But even when it’s disappointing news, it’s better to share it with other people who can empathize and understand what you’re going through.”
Riding the shuttle also enables families the time to share their experiences with one another, gaining support and strength along the way.
Ashley Adams, who rode the shuttle when her husband Bobby was gravely ill and waiting for a lung transplant, found it comforting to talk with other families and the volunteer drivers. “It was really great being able to talk with everybody about what they’re going through. It does really help,” she says. “One of the drivers had a lung transplant so I was asking him a lot of questions about it. Bobby and I ended up getting married in the hospital and it was this shuttle driver who arranged for a friend of his to marry us.”
Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution today to support the urgent need to purchase a new passenger van and #HelpShuttleHope.
For several years now, my family and friends have come together at Gift of Life Howie’s House to cook and serve guests a special, home-cooked meal …
We choose to be Home Cook Heroes because we know what these families are going through. And we do it because we want to honor our own hero, our son Gavin, on his birthday.
Gavin had a febrile seizure that led to cardiac arrest in April of 2013. He was 5 1/2 years old. His kidneys were the only viable organs able to be donated — and both of them went to a man in his 40s.
Helping others is, to me, one of the best ways to honor Gavin. – Kate Leong
It meant so much to us to donate Gavin’s kidneys at the end of his life, and we feel joy over and over as we help families staying at the Howie’s House. They come from all over the world, and the Howie’s House serves as their “home away from home” — and so much more.
-Kate Leong
Through my job as an in-house social worker, I offer support — including individual and group counseling — to help families through the transplant process.
But over the last six-plus years, I have also wiped tears, given hugs, brought in therapy dogs, celebrated birthdays and graduations, thrown bridal showers, and so much more.
“It’s a privilege to stand with families who have come from across the state, or across the country, on their transplant journey.” — Talia Giordano
“It’s a privilege to stand with these families who have come from across the state, or across the country, on their transplant journey. And it’s a privilege to stand with other people who care. Will you make a gift during the Matching Challenge so every dollar can double to provide a home to patients and families in their hardest times?” – Talia Giordano, MSW, LSW, Howie’s House Social Worker
To help families who rely on the Howie’s House during a most difficult and uncertain time in life, a generous friend has offered a $50,000 Matching Gift opportunity. Like you, this caring friend wants every transplant family to have access to an affordable place of rest, delicious home-cooked meals, and a warm and caring community of support. So every gift received prior to the December 31st deadline will be matched dollar for dollar, ensuring that more transplant families will experience a “home away from home” at the Howie’s House.
When you make a bequest to the Howie’s House, you will help to ensure a “home away from home” for the transplant families who will need us for years to come. And you will have the satisfaction of knowing that your deeply held values will live on through the loving care we provide. You will also help to ensure that the Howie’s House is able to maintain their affordable fees and broad array of services for all who need support— now and in the future.
It is an easy and simple way that you can support the future of the Howie’s House and continue care for transplant patients and families. Bequests can be a percentage of the remainder of your estate or a specific dollar amount.
Sample language for making a bequest: “I give, devise, and bequeath to Gift of Life Howie’s House, a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization located at 401 Callowhill Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19123, EIN 26-0585694, or its successor-in-interest, (insert dollar amount or percentage) for its unrestricted use and purposes.”
If you already have prepared a will, you can simply add a codicil amending it to include the Howie’s House.
Already included the Howie’s House in your will? Let us know so we can celebrate with you now!
Enjoy recognition today as a Legacy Society member.
Supporters who notify us that they have made arrangements for planned gifts will be recognized as members of our prestigious Legacy Society. And for members who have made bequests of $10,000 or more will have their name and giving level added to the special Legacy Society Wall in the Howie’s House living room.
Visit www.GiftofLifeFamilyHouse.org for more information.
To discuss making a planned gift to Gift of Life Howie’s House or if you have already named us in your will, please contact Sara Cohen, Development Manager at 267-546-9812 or email scohen@giftoflifefamilyhouse.org.
Please consult your attorney, tax advisor or financial advisor before making a bequest or updating your estate plan.
Gift of Life Howie’s House is proud to spotlight members of the Legacy Society who have made planned gifts to support the future of the House.
“It takes a lot to keep the Gift of Life Howie’s House running, and to be able to provide rooms for people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to have a place to stay. I think it’s very important that this continue.” – Jean Jones
Jean and Sam Jones are passionate supporters of the Gift of Life Howie’s House.
Jean Jones vividly remembers what it was like spending an entire summer living in a hotel in Washington, D.C. after her son’s organ transplant in 2006, because there was no transplant house. “There were a lot of people that we got to know – some from Philadelphia – who really didn’t have any place to stay,” says Jean, who is from New Jersey. “It was very difficult for them.”
After her son’s successful transplant, Jean learned about our plans for the Howie’s House and the rest, as they say, is history. “When I heard about the Gift of Life Howie’s House, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, that is just wonderful.’ So I got involved and then I signed up to be a volunteer.” In addition to Jean’s role as a volunteer, she and her husband, Sam, are generous supporters and great friends of the House. They also recently joined our Legacy Society.
Having experienced first-hand the plight of transplant families, Jean is especially interested in helping the Gift of Life Howie’s House fill the need for affordable lodging and services. “It is just wonderful that families are able to stay a night, or as many nights as they need to, have transportation to the hospital, have meals, and help from a social worker – anything they need. That’s so much better than just being on your own in a big city and trying to find a place to stay – and having no one to talk to or help you.” Jean explains that making provisions to include the House in their will is their way of continuing to help long after they are gone. “When you put it in your will, you know it’s going to go where you want it to go, to what you are passionate about.”
Jean and Sam support a number of charitable organizations, especially those that directly serve people. We are very grateful that the Gift of Life Howie’s House is among them. “It takes a lot to keep the House running, and to be able to provide rooms for people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to have a place to stay. I think it’s very important that this continue. The more I can help them to do that, the better.”
Gift of Life Howie’s House invites you to join Sam and Jean Jones in supporting the future of the House by becoming a member the Legacy Society.
Joining the Legacy Society is easy. Simply include the language below in your will directing a charitable gift to the Gift of Life Howie’s House and then let the House know about it. Such a bequest can take many forms including cash, stocks, or other gifts of value. A future gift made through a bequest may provide tax advantages that benefit you, your estate and your beneficiaries.
When you become a Legacy Society member, your gift will be acknowledged right away and you will be enrolled in various recognition activities, including an invitation to the yearly President’s Appreciation Reception. Your name will also be published in the Gift of Life Howie’s House’s quarterly newsletter and on its website and, for members who make bequests of $10,000 or more, your name will also be added to a special Legacy Society Wall being built in the Howie’s House living room.
When you make a bequest to the Gift of Life Howie’s House, you will help to ensure a “home away from home” for the transplant families who will need support for years to come. And, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that your deeply held values will live on through the loving care the House provides.
Sample language for making a bequest: “I give, devise, and bequeath to Gift of Life Howie’s House, a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization located at 401 Callowhill Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123, EIN 26-0585694, or its successor-in-interest, [insert dollar amount or percentage] for its unrestricted use and purposes.”
Click here for more information about the Howie’s House and planned giving options and to download a Legacy Society Membership form.
As with any tax-deductible gift, you should consult with your tax advisor to determine the degree to which your gift may result in tax advantages to you, your estate, and your beneficiaries.
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
