PEORIA MAGAZINE April 2023

S P O T L I G H T

‘WE’VE BEEN BLESSED, AND YOU NEED TO SHARE YOUR BLESSINGS’ So say John and Annette Heller, whose contributions have helped child cancer survivors thrive

BY LISA COON

B ottom line, it was always about helping kids. So when John and Annette Heller began exploring how they would donate $1 million to a good cause, they knew their end game. Kids. “We were both committed to making a gift while still living,” John said. “Our strategic and philanthropic intent was very much about helping children.” They explored various options, but the epiphany came during a meeting with Dr. Kay Saving, director of medical services and lead pediatric hematologist/oncologist at OSF HealthCare Children’s Hospital of Illinois, said John. The couple was talking with Saving about medical protocols for treating kids with cancer and how today, more

than 80% of kids survive their cancer diagnosis. But for Saving, there was far more that could and should be done for kids with cancer and their families. “She said, ‘You just don’t get it,’” recalled John. Saving explained that while kids can be medically cured, there are so many more services – emotional, educational, etc. — they need in order to thrive. Right then and there, the Hellers knew where their $1 million, along with a $1 million match from the Caterpillar Foundation, would be going. “It’s not fair for kids to have to fight the hardest fight of their life and not thrive,” John said. The decision to make the donation was about helping kids with cancer and their families to be the best they can be, Annette said. “And for Peoria to be

the best it can be, too,” she said.

ESTABLISHING THE HELLER CENTER In 2016, the Hellers made their donation, establishing an endowment for The Heller Center for Kids with Cancer at OSF Children’s Hospital. The Center isn’t a brick-and-mortar location but a collection of services for pediatric cancer patients and their families that go beyond medical treatment of the disease. There are physical, mental, emotional, educational and spiritual hurdles during a cancer journey, and overcoming them requires special services not traditionally covered by insurance. “These are services that are not ‘revenue-generating’ and not reimbursed by medical insurance, and are provided

50 APRIL 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE