philanthropy Archive

December 19, 2023

Cancer changed Jack Cawthon’s tune, so he found new ways to voice his gratitude

Multiple bouts with cancer and a total laryngectomy have curbed Jack Cawthon’s ability to sing, but not his spirit.

By Danny Bonvissuto
On hand for a recent celebration of the new research fund were Debra Friedman, MD, MS, left, and Brianna Smith, MD, MS, (holding the plaque) and, from right, Larisa and Phillip Featherstone with their daughters Lily, Sophie and Sophia, and Carol and Ron Johnston.
March 30, 2023

Family’s gift will support pediatric cancer research

Lily Hensiek’s family has made a new $1 million commitment to endow the Lily’s Garden Discovery Researcher Fund in the Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology in the Department of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

By Nancy Humphrey
The locker is filled with basic necessities to help patients and caregivers with their medical care journeys.
March 16, 2023

Football player’s donation honors his late brother

P.U.N.T. Pediatric Cancer Collaborative, along with Buffalo Bills football player Dawson Knox, recently presented Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt with a gift of “Luke’s Locker” in memory of his brother.

By Christina Echegaray
March 7, 2023

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban gift supports breast cancer clinical trials at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have made a generous financial gift to Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in support of clinical trials for new and better therapies for breast cancer.

By Tom Wilemon
Liz and John Potocsnak, second and third from left, with Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, left, Rizwan Hamid, MD, PhD, and Jennifer Pietenpol, PhD.
February 2, 2023

Potocsnak family’s transformative gift creates Center for Undiagnosed and Rare Disorders

A transformative gift from the Potocsnak family has established the Potocsnak Center for Undiagnosed and Rare Disorders at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

By Nancy Humphrey
Former patient Herbert Christopher poses for a photo with Elizabeth Perkins, MD, the first Christopher fellow of Otolaryngology.
September 15, 2022

Gifts bolster otolaryngology, Alzheimer’s disease programs

Herbert Christopher, a grateful Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery patient who received cochlear hearing implants from David Haynes, MD, has funded the training of otolaryngology fellows and leaders in Alzheimer’s disease care through several outright endowed gifts and additional gift planning with his estate.

By Emily Stembridge