Building Hope for Kids - Blog #1

Building Hope for Kids is an annual partnership between Flyers Charities, Michael's Way, and St. Christopher's Hospital for Children that helps to rebuild the home of a child fighting cancer. What started seven years ago as a simple bedroom makeover has quickly turned into a home renovation, thanks in large part to the generosity of Fastrack Construction and multiple vital community partners.

Each year, we work with St. Christopher's Hospital for Children to adopt a family with a child fighting cancer. This year, we adopted the family of five-year-old Maddie O'Malley, who was diagnosed with B-Cell Leukemia in 2015 and is now receiving off-treatment care for the disease. Maddie is a child filled with joy and laughter. She lives with her parents, Shaun and Tara O'Malley and younger brothers, Austin and Gus (born while Maddie was undergoing treatment) in the Northeast section of Philadelphia. Mom is employed as an occupational therapist but took a reduction in hours during Maddie's treatment. Dad is a firefighter and is very involved in giving back to the community. For instance, he often brings the firetruck, Santa and toys to children in the hospital during the Holiday season, as well as raising money on his own to donate to those in need.
On Friday, December 8, we surprised Maddie's family with the news that they were selected as the recipients of this year's Building Hope for Kidsproject. An emotional moment for us all, as we know how very deserving the O'Malley's are for this special renovation.

Renovations to the O'Malley home are now well underway. The Flyers wives, in conjunction with Michael's Way and Fastrack Construction, will work together to complete the entire renovation, including design and décor selections for the home. The transformation to the O'Malley home is already amazing to see, and we look forward to revealing it to Maddie and her family during a community celebration outside their home on Valentine's Day as a true 'labor of love.'
Stay tuned for more updates about the program, Maddie, and her family, including the Flyers wives' trip to Bob's Discount Furniture where they will select all new furniture to fill the O'Malley home.