Building a Haven for children and families

"I started this back in 2002 with a small group of family and friends and got federal and state status (as a nonprofit group), and because of people who have volunteered and donated, soon I hope we will be able to open an apartment building to provide housing for eight families," said Olsen.

Olsen, a three-time cancer survivor, said the idea for Christopher's Haven grew from his experiences of seeing other families forced to sell their home, or sleep in cars or waiting rooms, in order to stay close to family members being treated at Mass. General Hospital.

The hospital is one of only three hospitals in the country that currently has a special proton beam to treat certain types of cancer.

This year, Christopher's Haven has benefited from many local residents, including Dave Jacobs, head of Davalen, a Sudbury-based computer software company, who built the entire Christopher's Haven Web site.

"I got involved from the beginning about four years ago and joined the (Christopher's Haven) board in 2004 and have always been pretty closely involved," Jacobs said.

 Dan Olsen, founder of Christopher's Haven, holds Bella Parrish, 3, at a charity performance by Girl Authority. Bella's mother Becky is to Dan's right. Behind them are members of the PCIS Youth Group who volunteered to help at the performance. From left, Katherine Welsh, Julia Welsh, both of Sudbury, Katharina Kroll of Wayland and Rachel Gibbons of Marlborough.
(Courtesy photo)

"We started the marketing and fund-raising in-kind and manage all the equipment that goes into the Web site, which everybody needs these days."

The site - www.christophershaven.org - lists information for families who need a place to stay, upcoming events, and ways to donate.

"Anything that's going on with families staying in our apartments or with Dan (as an artist) goes up on the site," said Jacobs. "We change the content every couple weeks. This is actually the third iteration of the site and every time we update it, it gets more focused on fund-raising and visibility. So as it gets more heavy duty we hope to reach the goal of raising the $2 million or so we need for the (housing) project."

When a final location in Boston near Mass. General Hospital is selected for Christopher's Haven housing, Wayland resident Shaun McConnon said he is planning to contribute to the down payment for the building.

"My role is mainly to supply the down payment for the home after we pick a spot," said McConnon, CEO of Q1 Labs in Waltham. "That will be about 10 percent of the cost, which may be in the $1 million to $2 million range."

McConnon said he wanted to get involved with the charity after viewing a video produced by Olsen about families not being able to afford long hotel stays in Boston, which makes treatment from the proton beam a hardship.

"Before this new technology existed, there were situations where (before it was developed) children with cancer could die," said McConnon. "Now we have it but in some cases people can't afford to get treatment unless they can afford to live at a hotel in Boston for over a month. I can't imagine a better charity to give to than one that helps families in that situation."

For similar reasons, Weston resident Jane Akin has also donated thousands of dollars to Christopher's Haven over the past nine months.

"This was something I found out about and right away wanted to get involved in," said Akin. "I saw a presentation (on Christopher's Haven) at a friend's home and got excited about the opportunity to get involved.

"I'm probably part of the second wave, but as the daughter of a physician, this is something that's very close to my heart and I knew I wanted to help immediately," Akin continued. "There's such an enormous need for housing and there's only three places in the country where this treatment is available."

Akin described herself as a major contributor, and said her donation is not marked for any specific use other than to keep the organization running.

"It's basically seed money to get the group going and pay for some operating expenses," said Akin.

There are countless others who have volunteered for the organization, including Veronica Breer of Weston, a real estate agent by trade, who has lent her services in searching for suitable apartments in Boston for Christopher's Haven, and Sudbury resident Gary Broadbent.

Both Gary and his wife Tanya Broadbent have both given to Christopher's Haven from their own pockets and have helped furnish apartments for families with items like linen, kitchen supplies and ironing boards.

Olsen said he continues to contribute to the cause himself with at least half of the proceeds from his various albums being given to Christopher's Haven.

In the future, Akin and McConnon said they hoped Christopher's Haven continues to grow as strongly as it has in the past four years.

"This charity is something that is great for Boston, but could be greater than Boston," said Akin. "If we keep working and supporting the cause, someday the Christopher's Haven program could become a successful model for housing and become a national name, the same way the Ronald McDonald homes are for cancer patients."

"Hopefully we'll get to a point where enough people know about it and continually get involved and it just takes on a life of its own," said McConnon.

Editor's note: The Town Crier is once again holding a Gifts of Hope campaign for a local charity. This year we have selected Christopher's Haven, which maintains an apartment for families with children undergoing cancer treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital.

If you can give a Gift of Hope, please make your check payable to Christopher's Haven, and send it to the Town Crier, 33 New York Ave., Framingham MA 01701.

Donors will receive an acknowledgement letter and be recognized in the Town Crier, unless they wish to remain anonymous. Thank you for your support.

Reprinted with permission from the Sudbury Town Crier