elisa corcuera is a friend who traveled a long way

Issue 13 | Winter 2017

1933 W. Polk Street, SSR #214, Chicago, IL 60612 | 312-996-1167 | www.imdguesthouse.org

Friends make all the difference, especially on a long journey. Elisa Corcuera’s travels began when she moved from a small community in Chile to the city of Santiago to receive traditional cancer treatment using chemo therapy. Her treatment was prolonged over five years with many setbacks and relatively little progress. She had moved away from her family home and was no longer able to work. Being in treatment for so long with little progress was frustrating and disheartening.

Fortunately, a friend was there for the next step. A biochemist, he understood the specific profile of her unusual cancer. He undertook on the arduous task of researching treatment options in the U. S., through the National Institutes of Health Clinical Trails web site. Elisa was cautious, but pleased when he found an immunotherapy trial at Northwestern University which was perfectly matched to her treatment needs. With acceptance into the clinical trial, temporary relocation to Chicago was a new challenge to be hurdled. Where would she stay? Obtaining a lease in the United States

Elisa Corcuera is a Friend Who Traveled a Long Way with no financial re-cords here would be all but impossible.

Through a social worker associated with the clinical trial, Elisa found the IMD Guest House. Thanks to the generous sponsorship of the Editha House Foundation, IMD Guest House supports cancer patients receiving treatment at any Chicago area hospital.

This was a great solution for her. She

found a warm smile and a friendly welcome from new friends, staff members Jan Kroeschell, Volunteer Coordinator, and Chiquita Edwards, Manager of Guest Services. With all the comforts of home and plenty of space, her mother Anita joined her for support. Over the holidays, here father Luis also visited.

Elisa and her family are grateful for the support they received from the other guests during their extended stay, and were happy help others as members of the Guest House community. The journey continues with both old and new friends making all the difference for Elisa. The IMD Guest House has become her “Home away from home.” •

Happy times at IMD Guest House: Elisa Corcuera (far left) with Jan Kroeschell, IMD Guest House Volunteer Coordinator, and her parents Anita and Luis

Guest Profile

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CNA Volunteer-a-thon Benefits IMD Guest HouseIn October IMD Guest House was honored to be select-ed as one of only six Chicago nonprofits to be recipi-ents of CNA’s first annual Volunteer-a-thon. Hundreds of CNA employees throughout the day gave an hour of their time to support the nonprofits. By the end of the day these wonderful CNA volunteers had written 1,000 Comfort Cards to our guests and filled 1,000 Goody Bags with snacks. It was a wonderful experience and I was grateful to be a part of it! ~ Jan Kroeschell

CNA volunteers hear about the work of the six Chicago non-profits benefitting from the Volunteer-a-thon

Volunteer Coordinator Jan Kroeschell and the CNA team in action

CNA volunteers hard at work

CNA volunteers and Jan proudly pose with finished Goody Bags

What an achievement – 1,000 Goody Bags for IMD Guest House!

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Volunteer Honor Roll – May to December 2016A heartfelt THANKS goes out to all our corporate volunteers, service groups and regular volunteers from this year. We could not do what we do without YOU!

ACO Commercial

Albums of Hope

AMLI

Assumption Greek Orthodox Church of Chicago

AVA-MC members

Bakers: Dana, Dominic, Gena, James, Jane, June, Lexi, Margaret, Michelle, Nicole, Sherry, the Portnoy Family, and the Vecchione Family

BIR Training School – ESL students

BMO Harris

Breakfast Volunteers: Biancha, Kristina & Friends, Leslie, Margaret and Robin

Bubba Gump Shrimpossibles

City Church of Chicago-Selfless Saturday volunteers

CPS - Shoop Academy

Future Iota Leaders

Genentech

Guest Greeters: Ann Wentz, Mary Fox and Robin Taylor

Hyatt Regency O’Hare

Ice Cream “Cart” Volunteers: Alex, Arthur, Katie, Mary and Shannon

Junior League of Chicago – ACE and Done in a Day committee members

Knitting Volunteers: Kathy, Rachel and Tiffany

Mayer Brown LLP

Meal Maker Volunteers: Adam, Anita, Ardie, Beth, Brandi, Colleen, Elisa, Gail, Jade, Jane, John, Mike, Rachel, Sanchez, Ted, and Tiffany

New Hope Academy

New Life Church – New Lenox

office Volunteers: Chepita, Fer, Lourdes, Lucy, Sarai, Silvia and Yenfen

PepsiCo

Resurrection University Nursing Alumni

Road Home Program volunteers

Rush Hospital – Bone Marrow Transplant staff

Rush University – Health Systems Management students

Scafuri Bakery

Shoop Academy Student Council

special event Volunteers: Alberto, Alicia, Allie, Ann, Carli, Cathy, Chris, Dallas, Danny, David, Denise, Dipal, Emely, Evan, Felice, Gabe, Gene, Jack, Jeremy, Jillian, Johnie, Julie, Heather, Kathy, Kennice, Lindsay, Lisa, Louisa, Lourdes, Maddie, Matt, Mike, Monica, Paola, Paul, Peter, Rachel, Rob, Sarah, Shanna, Shannon, and Tim

Stout Risius Ross, Inc.

Target

The Claro Group

The Great American Bagel

UCP Seguin Services

UIC Association of Pre-Medical Students

UIC Delta Epsilon Mu – Psi Chapter

UIC Muslim Student Association

UIC Phi Delta Chi Pharmacy Fraternity

UIC Pre-Pharmacy Club

UIC Sikh Student Association

UIC Society of Future Physicians

UIC Student Nurses Association

Upshot Marketing

Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart

If you are interested in more information about volunteering, please contact Jan Kroeschell at [email protected] •

2017 Volunteer Appreciation event

Details Coming soon!

http://www.imdguesthouse.org

mailto:jank%40imdguesthouse.org?subject=Volunteering%20at%20IMD%20Guest%20House


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UIC Phi Delta Chi repre-sentatives Corinne and Magellan delivered Goody Bags – October ‘16

Volunteers Jeff and Mike from HumanaVitality helped move tables into new guest rooms – March ‘16

Volunteers from Mayer Brown made Goody Bags and wrote Comfort cards to guests – August ‘16

Guests Jessica and Debbie enjoy dinner with volunteer Colleen – March ‘16

Kristina celebrated her birthday by bringing friends together to make a Saturday Breakfast at IMD Guest House – May ‘16

IMD Guest House volunteer Juan Sanchez, flanked by Rush Road Home staff member Justin Lyman and Executive Director Will Beiersdorf – April ‘16

Guests appreciate receiving Goody

Bags for the long days at the hospital

– November ‘16

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New Staff Positions

IMD Guest House had several staffing changes in 2016, and we congratulate our new team:

Adam Helman, executive Director – Adam joined the IMD Guest House in January, 2015, as Director of Develop-ment, and was promoted to Executive Director in September of this year. A Chicago native, Adam’s background includes 15 years in marketing at Coca-Cola, nine years in advertising and 2 years as a political speech-writer in Chicago.

Joanie Vernasco, Director of Business opera-tions – Joanie took this newly created position in July, moving over from her position as Vice President of Operations & Program Development, at Editha House Foundation. Her time at Editha House Foundation in-cluded three years in Phoenix, where she helped open the Editha House facility in that market. Joanie recently received her Masters in Business Management, Lead-ership & Strategy from Michigan State University.

Chiquita edwards, Manager of Guest services – Chiquita was promoted into this newly created posi-tion in June. Since joining the IMD Guest House staff in 2013, this is the third promotion that Chiquita has earned. Her work managing reservations, daily interac-tion with guests, and supervision of the part-time staff makes Chiquita a highly valued member of the team.

Guest House News

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Latest Facts About IMD Guest House Usage

Nights of service21% Increase vs. 2015

Patients served5% Increase vs. 2015

financial Assistance30% Increase vs. 2015

2015 2016

8270

10319

2015 2016

620650

2015 2016

$253

$328

New Part-Time Staff

We are grateful to our part-time staff, who do so much to assist our guests and volunteers

Gabriella Accetto – Gabby is a student at the Art Institute, who was recommended by our partners at the Rush Road Home program

Yewande Awoyemi – Yaya is a UIC student who lives in the building, who served as a volunteer in the Community Room before joining the staff

Gwen Murphy – Gwen is pursuing her Masters in Social Work at UIC

Vince shavers – Vince first came to IMD Guest House as a volunteer, having heard about the organization as a transplant recipient at UI Health

shannon stout – Shannon is a recent UIC gradu-ate who was recommended by Board member Mary Gauwitz, of the Editha House Foundation •

David Boron

Bill Chance

Raymond Gross

Frederick Levin

Manuel Rivera

Chris Sarver

Robin Shingleton

Andrew Sommer

Wayne Wright

With Sympathy Our sincere condolences

to the families and friends of those we lost in 2016.

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Golf Was Hot on the Links This YearThe IMD Guest House 2016 Golf Outing was a hot one – the sun was out and temperatures were high as 137 golfers enjoyed a scramble format. Event Committee Co-Chairs Matt Manning and Mary Sabatino, leading the event for the first time, raised over $100,000 for the Comfort Fund. Play took off with a (figurative) shot-gun start at noon, and the round included Beat the Pro (Joe Sabatino), Long Driver (Connor Powers), In the Circle (the circle) and many more games of skill. The auction benefitted from great one-of-a-kind prizes, including a Lake Cruise and tickets to the Cubs Legends Lounge. During the post-golf BBQ, we recognized Medex, for

generously serving as Title Sponsor for 3 years in row.

Thanks to Matt, Mary, and the committee: David Cades, Rafal Dobek, Scott LaCrosse, Tony Spangenberg and Gene Yau; staff members Adam Helman and Lai Shaan Smith; and contractors Laura Ford (Giving Tree Associ-ates) and Scott Van Der Weele (Business Solutions, Inc.). Thanks also to the sponsors, players, volunteers and staff members who worked at the event. Finally, a spe-cial thanks to Board Member Mary Gauwitz for bringing Editha House staff member Janet Houghton all the way from Phoenix, and who was a big help. •

Outing participants Jen Han and Dr. Suzet McKinney, Execu-tive Director of the Illinois Medical District Commission, are ready to take off in the helicopter for the Golf Ball Drop

Golf event Co-Chair Mary Sabatino (front) poses with mem-bers of the winning foursome, captained by her father Jay (far left). Event Co-Chair Matt Manning (with beard), Board Chair Lisa Saul, and Executive Director Adam Helman look on.

continues on the next page

Relaxation in full-swing, enjoying dinner after the round

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Golf continued

Preparing to tee-off is serious business

Committee member and Jr. Board Chair David Cades lines up his shot for the putting contest

Thomas Marhevko, two-time winner of the putting contest, shows his form

Medex was honored for serving as Title Sponsor for three consecutive years. President and CEO Lauren Rubinson-Morris and Director of Patient Accounts Michael Pieroni enjoy dinner and the awards ceremony

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Red-and-White ’16 is Our Most Successful Wine Event Ever

The IMD Guest House 2016 Wine Tasting moved to a new location, Galleria Marchetti, welcoming more people and raising more money than ever before. It was a tough decision to leave Carnivale after many great years there, but Committee Co-Chairs Chuck Gavzer, Sarah Grady and Jodi Portnoy felt that it was time to move to a larger space, so that we could reduce individual ticket prices and increase attendance. It worked! We had 173 people attend and raised over $43,000, through sponsorships, ticket sales, Wine Roulette and the auction/raffle. Special thanks to Superior Ambulance, our title sponsor for the second consecutive year.

During the program, IMD Guest House recognized the generous and long-running support of 3 key sponsors, each of which had provided more than $1 million of support to IMD Guest House over time. Accepting the awards were: Cynthia Barginere, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Rush University Medical

Center, accompanied by IMD Guest House Board members and Rush staff members Paola Cieslak and Jane Reich; Dr. Avijit Ghosh, CEO of University of Illinois Hospital and Clinics, accompanied by IMD Guest House Board member UI Health Assistant Hospital Director, Joel Karman; and Mary Gauwitz, CEO of Editha House Foundation and IMD Guest House Board member, accompanied by IMD Guest House staff member Joanie Vernasco.

Sincere thanks to Chuck, Sarah and Jodi, and their Committee: Jarold Anderson, Paola Cieslak, Jessica Morris, Jane Reich, Stephen Ross, Lisa Saul, Prashant Srivastava and Gail Straus. They were supported by staff members Adam Helman, Jan Kroeschell, Lai Shaan Smith, and Joanie Vernasco, along with Scott Van Der Weele from Business Solutions, Inc. Thanks also to the sponsors, volunteers and staff members who worked at the event. •

Having a great evening (left-to-right): Board Chair Lisa Saul, former Board Chair and Legal Counsel John Janicik, Board members Mary Gauwitz and Gail Straus

Board member Matt Manning (far left) gets ready to taste some wine

more photos on the next page

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Red-and-White Wine Event continued

Board member Joel Karman with Dr. Avijit Ghosh, CEO of University of Illinois Hospital and Clinics

Recognizing Editha House Foundation (left-to-right): Committee Co-Chairs Sarah Grady and Jodi Portnoy provide an award to Editha House Foundation CEO and Board member Mary Gauwitz

Committee Co-Chair Chuck Gavzer welcomes attendees to the event

We depend on our volunteers (left-to-right): Jr. Board members Dipal Blackowicz, Felice Columbretis and Rob Giachetti with Volunteer Coordinator Jan Kroeschell

Cynthia Barginere, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Rush University Medical Center, displays her award

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Working Night and Day, Jr. Board Raises $2,500The Junior Board pitched into fundraising this fall, literally working night and day to raise $2,500 for the Comfort Fund, and to volunteer at this year’s Wine Tasting event. Members include: David Cades (Chair), Dipal Blackowicz, Mimi Clark, Felice Columbretis, Rafal Do-bek, Kyle Garner, Rob Giachet-ti, and Joanie Vernasco.

After dark, the team organized a charity bar night at Chicago’s legendary Le Coloniale. At-tendees at the August 23rd event included the Jr. Board, IMD Guest House Board mem-bers, IMD Guest House staff members and many friends.

Just a few weeks later, by the light of day on September 18th, four Jr. Board members participated in the Bucktown 5K, and used the event to do social fundraising for IMD Guest House. The runners were David Cades, Felice Co-lumbretis, Rob Giachetti, and Joanie Vernasco.

Thanks to the Jr. Board, for everything they do to support IMD Guest House. •

A Great Night at Le Coloniale. Top Photo (left-to-right): Jr. Board members Felice Columbretis, Dipal Blackowicz, David Cades, and Laura Elkayam. Middle Photo (left-to-right): Board Chair Lisa Saul, Board members Jane Reich and Gail Straus, and Rush Staff member Brandi Jacobs. Bottom Photo: Executive Director Adam Helman shows his skill as a guest bartender.

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Visit the IMD

Guest House

website to check

out the 2015

Annual Report,

which recaps a

great year.

2015 Annual Report Now Available On-line

Support the IMD Guest House DONATE NOW

CLICK HERE

http://www.imdguesthouse.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/IMD-Guest-House-2015-Annual-Report-POSTED.pdf

https://imdguesthouse.z2systems.com/np/clients/imdguesthouse/donation.jsp

http://www.imdguesthouse.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/IMD-Guest-House-2015-Annual-Report-POSTED.pdf

elisa corcuera is a friend who traveled a long way

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