Bears president Kevin Warren and his wife, Greta Warren, have donated $1 million to Lurie Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders through their family foundation in honor of his late sister who died in 2014 from brain cancer.
When his sister was getting chemotherapy, she would tell her family about “latchkey kids in Arizona who were taking two or three buses to get to chemo to then get back on two and three buses to get home, and so she challenged us she said make the world easier for them,” Kevin Warren said during a press conference Friday at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital.
Most of the money will be used to assist families with financial challenges they face beyond medical care, such as transportation, rent or bills.
“There’s so many additional burdens and unanticipated hardships that families face,” said Susan Ruohonen, senior director of family services at the hospital. “Thanks to the generosity of Kevin and Greta and their family foundation, we’re able to continue to provide those resources to help alleviate that burden on families that sometimes they don’t have control over.”
The hospital’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders treats more children with cancer and blood disorders than any other hospital in Illinois, receiving 220 new patients each year.
“As a clinician, this gift really underscores the importance of supporting our families holistically so that we can make an impact not only on medical outcomes, but also on the quality of life for children and loved ones affected by cancer in the series,” said Dr. Robert Liem, the hospital’s head of hematology, oncology, neuro-oncology and stem cell transplantation.
Kevin Warren said he was shocked to hear that more than more than 65% of patients at Lurie are underinsured or lack insurance, which drove his decision to donate to the hospital. Parents shouldn’t have to worry about not being able to pay their bills, losing their home or paying for food while their child receives cancer treatment, he said.
Tom Chitwood, whose stepdaughter Brooke Copeland, 16, has been in and out of Lurie Children’s for treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, since April 2022, said the donation was important for many financially struggling families.
Though Chitwood is financially stable, he said many families aren’t as fortunate.
“Several families I know are worried about New Year’s Day more than any other day ... because that’s when their deductibles kick in,” Chitwood said.
Chitwood has seen firsthand the devastation a child’s cancer diagnosis can have on a family, he said.
“When Lurie and the Bears and everyone steps in, it does more for these families than anyone could ever know,” Chitwood said.
George Wells’s 10-year-old son, Toby, was diagnosed six months ago with rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of soft tissue, connective tissue or bone. Despite having health insurance, the costs of treatments, of finding care for their other children, of overnight stays adds up, George Wells said.
“It’s a serious amount of expenses,” George Wells said. “I mean, we’re very fortunate that we have health insurance but it’s still even a lot on top of that.”
Toby Wells, who has “been a Bears fan since he was born” was donning a Bears hat and excited to see Kevin Warren. The two met at last month’s Bears-Lions game when Toby was featured as Champion of the Game.
“It’s amazing, this is incredible,” George Wells said.
Warren is familiar with having to spend time in the hospital as a child, and he knows how the important impact hospital workers have on children receiving treatment.
In the summer of 1974, Kevin Warren was hit by a car while riding his bicycle. He spent months in the hospital and had to lay flat on his back for about a year.
Since then, Kevin Warren said he knew he wanted to find a way to help other children in hospitals.
“I’m just grateful for the people who have chosen this field to come in helping children. I still think about many of the nurses and doctors have saved my life,” he said.
