Building Up Hope:

Howard Hanna Real Estate Services
Helps Lay the Foundation to Support
the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
Free Care Fund

By Christopher Cussat

The Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Free Care Fund and Howard Hanna Real Estate Services have been teaming together since 1989 to assure that needy children from Western Pennsylvania will never be denied the best medical care available.

The Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation serves as the fundraising arm for Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. The purpose of the Foundation’s Free Care Fund is to ensure all children receive medical care regardless of insurance or a families’ ability to pay. When Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh opened its doors on June 5, 1890, its mission was to provide care to sick and injured children in the tri-state region regardless of their families’ ability to pay. To ensure this mission is met year after year, Children’s established the Free Care Fund.

Gerri Giles, Manager of Media Fund-Raising for Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation, said, “Our mission for more than 100 years has been to never refuse treatment to a child because they can’t pay. It’s been an important focus here since we opened our doors and it still is the mission we follow today.” She explained why this fund is so important to these families. “When your child needs medical treatment, you don’t want to worry about how it’s going to be paid for – you just want the best care for your child.”

One of the main fundraising events is the hospital’s annual telethon. Last year, over $100,000 was raised through phone pledges alone. Although the telethon usually occurs in December, many companies begin their fundraising events around this time of year. Giles further explained, “Through the summer months, companies have fundraisers so they can later make their check presentations during the telethon in the winter.”
According to Giles, Children’s Hospital provided $26 million in free care in fiscal year 2005 and about $2 million of this came directly from donations to the Free Care Fund made by the local community. Giles noted that most of this money is raised through “a combination of individuals as well as businesses and corporations like Howard Hanna Real Estate Services.”

“All of our branch offices participate in our fundraising efforts for the Free Care Fund,” proudly said Howard W. “Hoddy” Hanna, III, Chairman and CEO of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services. “We have a few offices that have golf outings in the summer months, a few that do organized lunches and house tours in the fall, but absolutely all of our offices hold annual “Choo Choo Chow Chow” holiday luncheons beginning in November and continuing through the end of the year – all with the common purpose of raising as much money as we can for the Children’s Free Care Fund. So very many of our RealtorsÆ, staff and management give so much of their time and energy to this fund year after year, I continue to be amazed by this on-going support and from members of the community. It’s because the people of this area care so deeply about one another as well as the quality of life here, this great city is indeed the best in the nation.”

The Howard Hanna “Choo Choo Chow Chow” luncheons are held mostly on weekdays from 11am-2pm although a few are held in the evenings and a few on Saturdays. The cost is always only a $5 donation for a wonderful buffet meal and entertainment. There are numerous auction items to bid on, raffles to enter and baked goods to purchase along with baskets of cheer, lottery trees and visits from Santa. The annual “win a new car” raffle is always a big draw. An entire day at Hanna’s Corporate Office, located in O’Hara Township’s RIDC Park, is devoted to the corporate “Choo Choo Chow Chow” luncheon with everyone and every department (mortgage, title, insurance, marketing, relocation, accounting) participating in this annual holiday extravaganza – all to benefit the Children’s Free Care Fund.

Deborah Donahue, Public Relations Coordinator for Howard Hanna Real Estate Services was proud to convey her company’s 2005 fundraising total for the Free Care Fund – an astonishing $670,030.

In response to this outstanding achievement, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh President and CEO Roger Oxendale said, “We are very fortunate to be associated with Howard Hanna. Their enthusiasm and efforts put forth to support the very worthy cause, the care of children, is commendable.” Since Howard Hanna created their annual fundraising campaign in 1989, the company has raised approximately $3.8 million for children’s hospitals in all of their market areas.
“A tremendous number of individuals and businesses from Pittsburgh and the North Hills have supported Children’s throughout the years, and this spirit of giving is so strong here and it’s what is so special about the Free Care Fund,” said Oxendale, a North Hills resident. “The generosity of the people here, and organizations like Howard Hanna, allow us to focus on our number one priority – providing world-class health care to the children and families of this region.”

Renowned for its outstanding clinical services, Children’s has helped establish the standards of excellence in pediatric care. From Ambulatory Care to Transplantation and Cardiac Care, talented and committed pediatric experts care for infants, children and adolescents who make more than 400,000 visits to Children’s and its many neighborhood locations each year. Children’s also has been named consistently to several elite lists of pediatric health care facilities, including ranking eighth among children’s hospitals (FY 2003) in funding provided by the National Institutes of Health, and ninth best pediatric hospital in the country by Child magazine.

For more information about the Children’s Hospital Free Care Fund or to make a donation, please call (toll free) 1-877-CHP-GIVE (1-877-247-4483) or visit www.chp.edu.

Recently ranked as the fifth largest full-service real estate company and the third largest privately held real estate company in the United States, by Real Trends, Mr. Hanna noted that he was both excited and humbled that his Pittsburgh-based and family run company achieved this prestigious ranking. “The Hanna ‘One Team, One Dream’ effort of working together to provide the maximum in real estate service to our clients also provides Children’s Hospital our company’s dedication to this worthy cause.” Howard Hanna Real Estate Services specializes in residential and commercial brokerage service, mortgages, closing and title services, land development, appraisal services, insurance services and corporate relocation. The company currently has 110 offices across Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and West Virginia, and employs more than 3,500 sales associates and staff.

They currently have North Hills’ offices located in Cranberry, Seven Fields and Franklin Park and an office on Babcock Boulevard. This past April (on the 30th anniversary of their first presence in the North Hills), the official ground breaking was held for a new Howard Hanna North Hills office located on Perry Highway. Said Hanna, “This new office is a symbol of our commitment to the North Hills and McCandless communities. We look forward to our continuing success in the northern region.” This new state-of-the-art facility will provide luxury accommodations for Hanna agents, staff and customers.

“The attractive addition of this new Howard Hanna office will be the catalyst encouraging substantial redevelopment in this corridor,” said Harry E. Lyon, McCandless Town Council Member.

For more information about Howard Hanna Real Estate Services and their fundraising events, especially the 2006 Holiday luncheon schedule, visit www.howardhanna.com or call 412-967-9000.