VUMC Giving Archive

September 9, 2021

Gift creates directorship in translational vision research

Marlene and Spencer Hays’ longtime support of the Vanderbilt Eye Institute includes the recent commitment to establish the Marlene & Spencer Hays Directorship in Translational Vision Research.

This artist rendering shows the home that will be raffled off to benefit Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
September 2, 2021

Children’s Hospital to benefit from raffle of new home

Middle Tennessee home builder Willow Branch Homes has donated one of their new homes to raffle off in support of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Mark Leszczynski, center, husband of Coleen Leszczynski, along with Coleen’s parents James and Alice Devlin, with the bell dedicated in Coleen’s memory and its accompanying plaque.
August 26, 2021

Family’s gift celebrates those who make transplants possible

All Coleen Leszczynski ever wanted was to be normal. Born with a congenital heart disease (CHD), she labored to breathe, having only three-quarters the oxygen capacity of a healthy person. Still, she fought to live, serving as a cardiac nurse in her native Philadelphia area for more than 16 years. She wanted to help people like her.

Rocker George Thorogood, right, shown here with Ronald Alvarez, MD, MBA, recently made a donation to Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) from the Marla Thorogood Memorial Fund for Ovarian Cancer Research and plans to do more in memory of his wife, Marla, who he lost to ovarian cancer in 2019. In September, a limited-edition T-shirt featuring the Destroyers logo will be available for purchase online and at shows during the “Good to Be Bad Tour.” Sales will benefit cancer research at VICC.
August 19, 2021

Supporting ovarian cancer research

Rocker George Thorogood recently made a donation to Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) from the Marla Thorogood Memorial Fund for Ovarian Cancer Research.

William Blot, PhD, and his wife, Frances, deeded the proceeds of the sale of their home to VUMC after William Blot retired in April.
May 20, 2021

William and Frances Blot deed home to VUMC to benefit cancer patients

Their condominium in The Westbury was at the heart of all that William and Frances Blot loved about Nashville — its proximity to Vanderbilt where he worked for two decades, its sidewalk that led to the greenspaces where they would watch the seasons change, and its residents who became more like friends than neighbors.

Thanks to the care he received at Vanderbilt, Owen Canavan eventually was able to return to the gym after recovering from a devastating car accident. (photo by Erin O. Smith)
May 11, 2021

Canavan family gift to support VUMC Trauma Team

On April 7, 2017, a devastating car crash sent Owen Canavan to Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Trauma Intensive Care Unit, and he credits the medical team for saving his life.