Investment.

Invest in the family facing cancer

When you support the Respite Transformed Campaign, you create a circle of love with arms outstretched for families traumatized by cancer. Your generosity seeps deep into the hearts of those in despair and brings hope in this crisis. You change lives, forever.

Pete set out to Change the Continuum of Care for Families Facing Cancer. We will finish his work!

To learn more, contact For Pete’s Sake founder Marci Schankweiler at marci@takeabreakfromcancer.org or Campaign Director Cheryl Pompeo at cheryl@takeabreakfromcancer.org or call Cheryl at 724.510.3835.

Check out our investment progress below!

Total Capital Investment Raised: $11.4M out of $20M

Total Endowment Investment Raised: $4.0M out of $5M

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!

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!