When the Hope Lodge opened in November 2008, $27 million had been raised by the volunteer Boston Regional Campaign Cabinet, co-chaired by David S. Rosenthal, MD and Burt Adelman, MD. The outstanding efforts of this committee and the many others who supported the effort made it possible for the American Cancer Society to open the AstraZeneca Hope Lodge Center in Boston two full years ahead of schedule to begin providing free lodging to those who traveled to Boston for their cancer treatment, but fundraising efforts are still underway. When the Lodge opened, we still needed to raise $4 million to cover construction costs and related capital expenses.
In 2004, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute invested $2.5 million in the project, followed in 2005 by gifts of $2 million each from Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham & Women's Hospital, the founding hospitals of Partners HealthCare. The combined investments of the three hospitals enabled the American Cancer Society to purchase the site of the former Vincent Memorial Hospital for the new Lodge.
In December 2006, the American Cancer Society, New England Division, received a $7 million gift from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, to name the building at 125 South Huntington Avenue. With this gift in hand, the Lodge was able to open two years ahead of schedule, in November 2008.
In addition to offering free housing and transportation to Boston area cancer treatment centers, we have hundreds of volunteers spanning non- and for-profit companies as well as individuals offering meals and other social activities for our 60+ in-house guests each evening. There is a cancer resource library on-site, a healing garden, and a variety of other common spaces where guests can gather together to support one another during some of life’s most difficult times.