The Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care unveiled a model late last month for a display that will be housed at Tufts-New England Medical Center's (NEMC) Floating Hospital for Children.
When completed, the display will feature three panels commemorating the tenth anniversary of the foundation's Neely House. Located at Tufts-NEMC, the house provides family members of cancer patients with a place to stay while their relatives are hospitalized.
Specifically, the display will detail the history of the foundation, which former Boston Bruins player and Hockey Hall of Fame member Cam Neely started in 1995. The house came two years later.
Neely, currently the Bruins vice president, and his three siblings were inspired to create the foundation after both of their parents died of cancer.
"The Neely family took the personal and tragic loss of their parents and turned that sadness into an incredible gift to so many other families," said Ellen Zane, the president and CEO of Tufts-NEMC and the Floating Hospital for Children. Originally a moving ship, the hospital is now on dry ground in Boston.
According to Steve Perna, the donor relations coordinator for Tufts-NEMC, the display will be around 6 feet high and 4-5 feet wide. It will be located in the Floating Hospital's third-floor atrium.
The center panel will feature a picture of Cam Neely with an inscription calling him "a hero on and off the ice." The left panel will have a picture of his parents and the one on the right will highlight the projects that the foundation has funded.
Work should begin on the display within a month, and after that it should take around eight weeks to complete.
Funds will come from Tufts-NEMC.
"This is [to] to thank the Neelys for all the work they've done for the hospital," Perna said.
According to Scott Neely, Cam's brother and the foundation's executive director, the display seeks to highlight the partnership between his family and Tufts-NEMC.
"[It] also highlights the major fundraising events the foundation has undertaken and Cam Neely's career as a Boston Bruin," he said.
Zane said that this partnership has been fruitful. "We are honored and proud to have been in partnership with Cam and Scott for 10 years, and we look forward to all we can do together for patients and families in the future," she said.
The Neely House has accommodated over 3,000 families since 1997. The average stay at the house is about three weeks, though the longest one was 51 weeks. It contains sixteen private apartments, as well as common areas where guest families can share their experiences. The foundation also has around-the-clock social work services available.
Over the years, the foundation has sponsored a variety of other services apart from those offered by the house. These include support for the Neely Center for Clinical Cancer Research and the Neely Cell Therapy and Collection Center.
Other plans are also on the horizon. Neely said the foundation plans to fund a pediatric bone marrow transplant unit at the Floating Hospital and a center for brain tumor care and research.
Together, they will cost around $10 million. The foundation has already raised $7 million.
Rob Silverblatt contributed reporting to this article.
