Flyers, Building Hope for Kids unveil renovated home

PHILADELPHIA -- Ronda Burns walked through a familiar front door of her home on Medary Avenue in North Philadelphia, but she might as well have been entering a new universe.

Ronda, an 8-year-old who was diagnosed with leukemia in February 2023, and her family were chosen for a home makeover by Building Hope for Kids, a partnership that includes Flyers Charities, St. Christopher's Hospital for Children and Michael's Way, an area nonprofit that supports the lives of children dealing with pediatric cancer.

Construction began in January, and on Wednesday, Ronda and her mother, Joyce Burns, got their first look at the two-story row home, which had been completely rebuilt from the frame out, to include two bedrooms, a playroom for Ronda, a living room, kitchen, dining room, bathrooms and a backyard that includes a covered dining area.

"We're incredibly grateful to Michael's Way, St. Christopher's and Flyers Charities for their hard work to make our dream house a reality," Joyce Burns said. "Cancer affects millions of Americans in different ways, and we feel blessed that in this difficult time, our home can be a place of comfort and community."

Chris McElwee, the founder of Michael's Way and president of Fastrack Construction oversaw the project.

"We did the construction in six weeks, and then the decorating is two weeks," he said. "We just started in January, so from there to March, it's pretty amazing. It was stripped to the studs. There was a lot of different issues. There was some mold in house and things like that. So now it's a nice, clean, safe environment that they had to come home to. Everything's replaced, all the finishes."

The wives of Philadelphia Flyers players, coaches and staff members played major roles in the design of the home.

That included Alex Sanheim and Karly Konecny, the wives of Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim and forward Travis Konecny, who handled the most important part of the project -- designing Ronda's bedroom and playroom.

"Her wishes for her room was purple," Alex said. "So we had this super fun purple wallpaper. And basically everything in there is purple down to the hangers. We tried to keep it like really girly, but yet something that she can grow into."

The playroom didn't exist prior to the Building Hope project, but that also came with a purple hue.

"We ended up switching some rooms around, and now we put a couple chairs in there and a TV so a place that she can hang out and kind of have her own two spaces," Alex said.

Flyers alternate governor and president of Flyers Charities Blair Listino, who helped tour Ronda and Joyce around the revamped home, said they spent the first few minutes standing in the foyer, admiring the spacious new first floor.

The emotions swelled when they went upstairs.

"They were screaming," she said. "It was very loud. It was so exciting. Ronda spent, I would say, at least like 10 minutes in her room just checking out everything. Can you imagine going into your room for the first time and seeing all the little details? It's like a hotel, you want to open up every drawer, you want to explore every nook and cranny. And it was really impactful to see, to see the joy that it brought to her.

"She got a playroom ... she had a lot of toys, so this playroom will be awesome to store her toys and a place for her. She also just told me that it would be a great place not only to play, but to also study. So it'll be great for multiple reasons."

As emotional as it was for the Burns family, it also brought a sense of pride for the Flyers wives who worked on the project.

"It's so special," said Lindsay Hathaway, wife of forward Garnet Hathaway, who helped design the kitchen and bathrooms along with Taylor Tippett (Owen Tippett) and Carlie Cates (Noah Cates). "I think anytime we have an opportunity to get involved in something like this and give back, it's such an honor."

There's still a bit more work that needs to be done, including a chairlift that will be installed, but it's obvious the kind of life change this will provide the Burns family.

"I feel like our entire goal was to kind of make this family's life a little easier," said Misha Briere, wife of general manager Daniel Briere. "It's not a hardship story, but they've been through a lot. They probably went through a lot to get through the adoption process, and this little girl has been through leukemia at such a young age. I think everybody's goal and intention for them is just to give them an easier trip and a better life going forward and somewhere where they can come actually home and feel relaxed and peaceful and have something that they look forward to coming home to, their their own spaces, and something really nice."