Fisher House Opens in Cleveland with Support from Hawken Lacrosse
From 2008 to 2016, Hawken Boys Lacrosse partnered with Burning River Lacrosse to hold eight Fisher House Charity Lacrosse events, and for seven of those events, Hawken was the host and a primary partner and sponsor.
Over that span of time, The Fisher House Charity Lacrosse Showcase raised $350,000 toward the dream of building a Fisher House in Cleveland, in support of military families and the VA Hospital of Cleveland. On June 11, 2019, the dream became a reality when the Fisher House Foundation cut the ribbon for their two-home, 32-suite complex located just a few blocks from the VA Hospital in University Circle. Hawken Athletic Director Jim Doyle and Burning River Founder and CEO Woody Calleri were on hand to celebrate.
Fisher House Foundation builds comfort homes where military and veterans families can stay free of charge while a loved one is in the hospital. These homes are located at military and VA medical centers around the world. At the Cleveland Fisher House, each suite has beds and private bath facilities, and each building has a common kitchen, laundry area, dining room, living room, library, and toys for children. A courtyard area with a gazebo separates the two buildings. The complex provides accommodations to military and veteran families who travel to Cleveland for treatment at the nearby VA center and serves about 1,000 families annually.
The complex cost $12 million to build, $3.4 million of which was raised locally. Of that 3.4 million in local dollars, the largest single donor was the Burning River Fisher House Charity Lacrosse Showcase. Hawken and Hawken Lacrosse is very proud to have played such an important role in making this happen. “Seeing this come to be,” Doyle said, “and knowing the difference it will make in the lives of so many military families who are giving so much to our country, it really makes me proud to have been a part of it. So many people worked very hard over many years to put on our events –Woody, (former Hawken coach) Jim Scully, (former US coach) Jack Fisher, our sponsors, and countless players, parents, and friends of Northeast Ohio lacrosse. To host it all at Hawken was special. It was a team effort, and look what it has done. Wow.”
An independent, coeducational, college preparatory day school, toddler through grade 12
Early Childhood, Lower, and Middle Schools, 5000 Clubside Rd, Lyndhurst, OH 44124
Birchwood School of Hawken, 4400 West 140th Street, Cleveland, OH 44135
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Mastery School of Hawken, 11025 Magnolia Dr, Cleveland, OH 44106
Gries Center, 10823 Magnolia Dr, Cleveland, OH 44106
Early Childhood, Lower, and Middle Schools, 5000 Clubside Rd, Lyndhurst, OH 44124
Birchwood School of Hawken, 4400 West 140th Street, Cleveland, OH 44135
Upper School, PO Box 8002 (12465 County Line Rd), Gates Mills, OH 44040
Mastery School of Hawken, 11025 Magnolia Dr, Cleveland, OH 44106
Gries Center, 10823 Magnolia Dr, Cleveland, OH 44106
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