NEW ENDOWMENTS
THE DR. MARTHA PACHECO AND RUTH ANNE HERRING FUND
for the Treatment and Research of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma: Gino and Catherine Sabatini Gino and Catherine Sabatini stared at the scan of their then 17-year-old son’s body that included a mass the size of a fist on top of his heart. Standing in the Emergency Room at Children’s Health, their minds began to race. “We saw this picture of our kid covered from his neck down with nodules of cancer,” Gino said. “We thought, ‘How can you have a picture like that and live?’” For about half-a-year, their son was cared for and treated by an army of team members in the Pauline Allen Gill Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s Health. Overwhelmed with gratitude to Children’s Health for saving their son’s life, Gino and Catherine knew they wanted to give back in some way to the care team that stood alongside them. Once, they offered to buy their son’s nurse practitioner, Ruth Anne Herring, dinner in the hospital cafeteria, but she turned it down, saying they didn’t need to pay for her meal. So, they started thinking bigger.
omeone saves your S child’s life—how do you even thank them?” Catherine Sabatini
As a tribute to their son’s care team, the Sabatini family— joined by the W.P. Carey Foundation—surprised clinicians in 2020 during a Zoom call with the announcement of a $1 million donation to establish The Dr. Martha Pacheco and Ruth Anne Herring Fund for the Treatment and Research of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The endowment is named in honor of their son’s physician, Dr. Martha Pacheco, and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Ruth Anne Herring. “Someone saves your child’s life—how do you even thank them?” Catherine said.
LARAN O’NEILL FUND
for Pediatric Mental Health: Laran O’Neill At home, she’s mommy. But at Children’s Health, Laran O’Neill, Chief Advancement Officer at Children’s Medical Center Foundation, is pushing the mission forward to make life better for children. Laran has a personal connection to the Children’s Health mission because it has helped some of those closest to her overcome illness, injury and a mental health crisis. Mental health, in particular, is an important area of care for kids, and Laran knows this all too well. Several years ago, her daughter began dealing with her own mental health battle as the family was confronted with a series of events causing feelings of grief and loss, which led to her daughter’s daily struggle with anxiety. As a commitment to help address pediatric mental health challenges, as well as placing an emphasis on the importance of giving back with her children, Laran established, with an estate gift to Children’s, the Laran O’Neill Fund for Pediatric Mental Health. “I support pediatric mental health at Children’s, and have established this endowment, to make an impact on pediatric mental health long after I’m gone as I think it is the most important health challenge we must address now and well into the future,” Laran said. Through this endowment, funds will support the greatest needs and provide support for programs in pediatric mental health in perpetuity. 12
