Investment.

Invest in the family facing cancer

Work is underway on the Center as we are in the midst of Phase I of the project that includes land cleaning, sitework and infrastructure upgrades. A temporary road will be complete for travel to and from the site.

Phase II of the project includes the vertical construction of the building.

Lastly, Phase III of the project is our campus that will round out the final touches of the project.

FPS is maximizing the energy efficiency of the building by installing a geothermal system for heating and air-conditioning. This Center is located in a beneficial zone for maximum credit under the Inflation Reduction Act and it is expected that FPS will capitalize on energy credits in excess of $2.7M, save on long term energy costs of nearly 50% and extend capital replacement with the extended life of a geothermal system.  FPS is also utilizing True Market Tax Credits and is grateful for the assistance of PricewaterhouseCoopers in the credit evaluations. Lastly, we thank the Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance for developing our Economic Impact Study.

For questions about the Campaign and our progress, please contact FPS Founder Marci Schankweiler at (215) 416-7489 or marci@takeabreakfromcancer.org.

Your support creates a circle of love with arms outstretched for families traumatized by cancer and your generosity seeps deep into the hearts of those in despair and brings hope in the cancer crisis. Pete set out to Change the Continuum of Care for Families Facing Cancer. We will finish his work!

Check out our investment progress below!

Total Capital Investment Raised: $20M cash and $1.6M gift in-kind for a total of $21.6 out of $25M

Total Endowment Investment Raised: $4.0M out of $7M

Milestones

Weekly Photo Progress

Follow along with our weekly progress updates and photos as the site transformation unfolds—visit here to stay connected every step of the way!

February 2026

On National For Pete’s Sake Day (February 26), FPS CEO and Founder Marci Schankweiler met with our partners at Woodloch and our building partners for our kick-off meeting at the site of our Respite Center. Though still digging out from last week’s snowstorm, we had a productive meeting and are excited to break ground in a few short months!

December 2025

The McMahon Family published an op-ed in PennLive detailing their support of the nation’s first Cancer Respite Center! Read their piece about their parents’ final gift and how it will help thousands of families facing cancer find peace. Thank you to the McMahon’s for their generous support and for honoring their parents’ legacy through this project.

November 2025

We hosted a construction kick-off meeting for our FPS Cancer Respite Center with our incredible partners! We’re excited to work with these incredible companies including the Butz Family of Companies, TobinPeters Project Management and Kimmel Architecture along with our other partners who are working with us to build the nation’s first Cancer Respite Center.

September 2025

We at FPS have been hard at work these past few months. We worked with our contractor on value engineering for the building to align the costs with our prior estimates. We employed PricewaterhouseCoopers to assist us with funding via the New Market Tax Credits and Inflation Reduction Act Tax Credits (related to geothermal energy that will be in the building). Investment banker DA Davidson is representing FPS in our financing efforts. Lastly, we are grateful too for the talents of our Building Committee and Respite Transformed Fundraising Committee as they volunteer their time and talent to this project’s success. We have assembled a passionate and talented group of people!

June 2025

Despite the rain, we are making steady progress: permitting for public water is progressing and early-stage construction work for the Respite Center is underway. Momentum continues to build as this land is transformed! Check out the drone video of the sitework to witness this transformation yourself!

May 2025

We hosted our Sneak Peek at Woodloch! This special day was a powerful reminder of how far we’ve come and how much opportunity remains to make Pete’s dream a reality. View the presentation featuring exciting updates and browse photos from the day.

April 2025

Spring is in the air, and the development of the site has commenced, with land grading underway and well drilling for geothermal energy at the Center. Take a closer look at this exciting space through the accompanying drone footage.

January 2025

Winter is upon us and the site is still. There is peace in the snow covered site!  Much is happening behind the scenes this winter as we finalize our construction drawings and prepare for a launch of Phase II of the project.  A tentative groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for May 15, 2025 and more information will follow.

November 2024

We are excited to announce that For Pete’s Sake has been awarded a $3.5 million grant through the Redevelopment Capital Assistance Program, thanks to the dedicated support of Senator Lisa Baker, Governor Josh Shapiro, and many other key leaders. These include Representatives Jeff Olsommer, Jonathan Fritz, and Tarah Probst; Senators Maria Collett and Rosemary Brown; Pike County Commissioners Matt Osterberg, Ronald Schmalzle, and Christa L. Caceres; Wayne County Commissioners Brian Smith, Jocelyn Cramer, and James Shook; Lackawaxen Township Supervisors Jeffrey Shook, John Beisel, and Mike Mancino; and Pike County EDA Executive Director Mike Sullivan. To view the full press release, click here. 

Work at the Respite Center is progressing beautifully! We invite you to check out this video showcasing the latest updates and see the incredible progress for yourself.

September 2024

The trucks are on-site, and work has officially begun at the Respite Center location! Thank you to Bob McNeil and the Morrissey team for ensuring the path to the Respite Center’s location is complete. We’re excited to share that a groundbreaking ceremony is planned for the spring once site preparation is complete. In the meantime, we’re actively seeking in-kind contributions from construction professionals, service providers, and material vendors to support this impactful project. Visit here for a full update.

July 2024

A generous $3.2 million dollar gift has been pledged to our Respite Transformed campaign, marking the largest contribution in our history. This incredible donation comes from Mrs. Sandy McMahon. McMahon has been loyal to FPS since our inception, both individually and through our company, The McMahon Insurance Agency. We invite you to watch this video of Mrs. McMahon speaking about why this gift is so meaningful to her.

Additionally, we are pleased to share that Lackawaxen Township has approved our final permits, including the Sewer Facilities Agreement and the Final Land Development Plan.

March 2024

We are thrilled to share that the initial phase of construction for the Respite Center has begun, with the commencement of logging activities across the 32-acre site designated for this project. We invite you to view photos of the early stages of logging as well as an aerial perspective showcasing the breathtaking vistas that will soon be accessible to our FPS Families.

December 2023

We made the final application for the State’s RACP grant, for which we are asking for $5M capital. Also, James Hardie and Bradford White came on board to donate products for the Respite Center.

May 2023

Our building committee has been hard at work on the project scope and design. We are fortunate to have the support of Skanska, a world leading project and construction group, who has donated hours to develop a line-by-line estimate for all the project’s disciplines. The committee chairs are meeting with general contractors this month to review pricing so that we have a strong final cost for the Campaign. We are also awaiting the final approval for our National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit which should arrive in July.

February 2023

Great news! On January 23, 2023, we received our Conditional Use Permit for the Respite Center!  This permit now allows us to build the facility and we are moving full steam ahead! Our architect, Kimmel-Bogrette is finalizing the Design Development documents in collaboration with our Building Committee to ensure that every aspect of the building meets our families’ needs.

December 2022

We are in the final phase for our Conditional Use permit. Take a look at our Conditional Use Plan for the project and get a sneak peek at the building and the property.  There is such a peace that one finds in nature, and our families will be surrounded by such peace throughout their stay! Moreso, the land that abuts the property is in conservation, so we are looking at 57 acres of preserved, pristine land! We look forward to the 2023 and our momentum forward to change cancer care with the first dedicated Respite Center for families facing cancer.

October 2022

We had our first conversation with the Lackawaxen Township Planning Commission to share our plans to build the nation’s first cancer respite center in their community. This is only the beginning of our conversations to obtain approvals and permitting for our project. Our Cancer Respite Program served our 10,000th person through a travel respite experience at Woodloch.

June 2022

We executed the Agreement of Sale for the 32 acres at Woodloch. We have contracted with our architect Kimmel Bogrette for the remaining phases of design development and our civil engineers are working on our site plan. Our final drawings coming soon for our project.

January 2022

100% of the FPS Board and Campaign Committee make a pledge to the project! With proceeds from the sales of the FPS homes in FL, FPS surpasses $4,000,000 committed to the project.

December 2021

FPS secures a $1,250,000 gift to the Campaign.

November 2021

The Campaign committee gathered at Woodloch for a two day training session and some Woodloch fun. The group toured the site and symbolically marked the location with stones that will be used in the building. View pictures here of this training session and the dedicated group of volunteers spearheading this endeavor!