Babe and Dick Chaney Memorial Fund to Gift ACS Hope Lodge Garden

The American Cancer Society Hope Lodge Baltimore, a free home-away-from home for cancer patients who travel long distance for treatment, has received a generous $100,000 donation from the Babe and Dick Chaney Memorial Fund with Chesapeake Charities for the reflection garden at the future new Hope Lodge Baltimore that will be named the Chaney Cares Garden. The garden will be a beautiful green space, featuring seasonal flowers and plantings, where guests can enjoy the outdoors, sit, relax, meditate, read, and take a stroll. Chaney Cares is a new unique approach to charitable giving by Chaney Enterprises of Gambrills, Maryland.

The American Cancer Society launched a Capital Campaign in fall 2021 to fund a larger 34-guest room Hope Lodge Baltimore that will be located directly across from the present 26-guest room Hope Lodge at 636 W. Lexington Street, which opened in 1987.

“Hope Lodge is grateful for this thoughtful, compassionate Capital Campaign gift to create the Chaney Cares Garden. Research indicates that gardens in health care settings promote a feeling of well-being and hopefulness as well as reducing stress and anxiety. The Chaney Cares Garden will be a peaceful, soothing haven for cancer patients to relax while they focus on getting better,” said Hope Lodge Capital Campaign Chair William F. Regine, MD, chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at University of Maryland Medical Center and executive director of the Maryland Proton Treatment Center.

Hope Lodge Baltimore, which provides approximately 13,000 free night stays annually, consistently operates at full capacity and requires additional guest rooms and a complete update to more effectively meet the needs of cancer patients who come from all over the U.S. and other countries for access to world-class, lifesaving treatment at Baltimore facilities. The future Hope Lodge will offer 30% more capacity through an additional 2,920 nights of lodging to help reduce disparities in cancer outcomes by removing barriers to care for more patients.

Approximately 400 Hope Lodge Baltimore cancer patients and their caregivers saved an estimated $2.3 million in out-of-pocket lodging costs in 2019. The average patient stay is four to six weeks. With Baltimore hotel rooms averaging $175 a night, long-term housing costs can easily exceed $9,000.

The future Hope Lodge Baltimore will be located at 635 West Lexington Street, where the present building will undergo a complete renovation into a state-of-the-art facility. There are 30 American Cancer Society Hope Lodges across the U.S. and in Puerto Rico. Hope Lodges provide a nurturing, home-like environment where guests can retreat to private rooms along with their caregiver or connect with others to share camaraderie and support in the common areas, which include kitchen and dining areas, great room, library, laundry, exercise room and outdoor spaces. To learn about the Hope Lodge Baltimore Capital Campaign, www.hopeishomebaltimore.org.

The American Cancer Society is a global grassroots force of 1.5 million volunteers dedicated to saving lives, celebrating lives, and leading the fight for a world without cancer. From breakthrough research, to free lodging near treatment, a 24/7/365 live helpline (800-227-2345), free rides to treatment, and convening powerful activists to create awareness and impact. For more information go to www.cancer.org.

About Chaney Cares: For decades, Chaney Enterprises has supported the communities in which it operates through philanthropic leadership, charitable contributions and sound stewardship of natural resources. It all started when Chaney Enterprises lost its founding father Babe Chaney to cancer shortly after starting the company. His son Dickie took over the reins and rallied his employees and the Chaney family to action to fight cancer together. Chaney Cares is Chaney Enterprises' new unique approach to charitable giving.