The long-awaited renovation and addition to the Believe In Tomorrow Children’s House By The Sea property on the ocean block of 65th Street is well underway, thanks to the efforts of generous contractors, businesses, and local residents.
The new addition to the Believe in Tomorrow Children’s House by the Sea on 65th Street is pictured in a rendering.
Courtesy rendering
The long-awaited renovation and addition to a property on the ocean block of 65th Street is well underway, thanks to the efforts of generous contractors, businesses, and local residents who are supporting the construction of the new addition to the Believe In Tomorrow Children’s House By The Sea.
When completed, this new respite facility for pediatric cancer patients and their families will adjoin Believe In Tomorrow’s flagship facility on 66th Street. The focus of the new facility will be to serve children with short life expectancies, as well as larger families and families of active U.S. military personnel.
Since 1986, thousands of critically ill children and their families have traveled from around the country to Ocean City, where they have found peace, joy, and healing by the sea. For many pediatric patients, it is one of their first opportunities to get away from a hospital setting and enjoy an array of fun and relaxing opportunities.
Leading the way in the 65th Street renovation project are Igor Conev and Mann Properties, who are helping to coordinate labor and material donations, and Robert Purcell and his company, Beechwood Homes, who is volunteering to serve as the project’s general contractor and is coordinating the construction effort.
The Home Builders Care Foundation of Maryland has also taken a lead role in this project, which was named the Care Foundation’s 2024 Project of the Year. Trough the foundation’s director, Patti Kane, Home Builders Care Foundation is coordinating contributions of labor and materials from members of the Maryland Building Industry Association.
Among the many local contractors donating to the project are Mike Thompson and his company Edison Electric, who is donating all electrical contracting labor and materials; Mike Reynolds and his company Northern Building and Restoration, who is donating the installation of the windows, doors, and siding; local architectural consultant Steven Cirile, who donated the building design; Kirk Parsons and Engineering Technical Consultants, who are donating engineering services, Kristen Walbert and Glen Wood of Tecta America East, who are donating the roof; U.S. Mobile Kitchens is donating all of the appliances; and Eric McFadden and his company Trident Fire Protection are donating the sprinkler system.
A complete list of major donors to the project will soon be available on the Believe In Tomorrow Foundation website.
Although many contractors and suppliers have mobilized to build the new Believe In Tomorrow Children’s House By The Sea addition, the effort still needs building materials and labor in time to open its doors to families early next year, according to a statement issued by the nonprofit organization.
Plumbing and HVAC are critical needs at this point in the project’s development, organizers said. Anyone interested in contributing to the project should email Brian Morrison at bmorrison@believeintomorrow.org, or call Mary Brown or Amanda Koontz at the Believe In Tomorrow Children’s House By The Sea office at 410-723-2842.
The Believe In Tomorrow Children’s Foundation opened the first pediatric respite program in the United States in Ocean City. Currently, six families each week participate in the Ocean City respite program. In just the past several weeks, families have come from as far away as Texas, Connecticut, Ohio and Colorado in search of a healing experience by the sea.
Believe In Tomorrow is widely recognized as a national leader in the area of pediatric hospital and respite housing services and has provided over 975,000 overnight stays to critically ill children and their families.
To learn more about Believe In Tomorrow, visit believeintomorrow.org. To take a tour of the Believe In Tomorrow Children’s House By The Sea on 66th Street, contact Mary or Amanda at 410-723-2842.