Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo is stepping up to bat for the children at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago in a big way.
Mr. Rizzo and his charitable organization, The Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation, agreed to donate $3.5 million to Lurie Children's through the creation of two endowment funds.
The Hope 44 Endowed Fund will provide grants on a case-by-case basis for families facing financial hardship resulting from their child's cancer treatment. Social workers will work to determine a family's need for assistance, without factoring in the patient's age or stage in diagnosis. Patients and families would not need to fill out a formal application to be eligible for the funds.
The second fund, the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation Child Life Endowed Fund, will provide ongoing support for two oncology child life specialists. The positions would be funded entirely by the philanthropy.
"As a survivor of cancer myself, I know the emotional and financial strain the diagnosis of cancer can put on a family," said Mr. Rizzo said in a statement released on the foundation's Facebook page. "I believe that an individual does not battle cancer alone, his or her entire family does. That's why we've designated this money to go directly to help families on the front lines."
