Yawkey Foundation Health Care Support

Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital was the recipient of a $1 million charitable grant from The Yawkey Foundation. The grant will support the organization’s mission of providing high- quality and accessible healthcare to individuals in Brockton and the surrounding areas.

Tom and Jean Yawkey first began supporting Georgetown Memorial Hospital in Georgetown, South Carolina in 1945 when they made a significant charitable gift to support the construction of the hospital. This support continued over many years and in 2018, with the support of a Transformational Capital grant of $10 million from the Yawkey Foundation, Tidelands Georgetown Memorial Hospital opened a new surgery pavilion to bring the latest medical equipment and technology to the Georgetown, South Carolina community. With a large low-income patient population, Tidelands Health is the largest healthcare provider in Georgetown and Horry counties in South Carolina.

Tom and Jean Yawkey first lent their extraordinary support to Dr. Sidney Farber by initiating the Red Sox relationship with Dr. Farber and The Jimmy Fund in 1953. Their commitment went beyond financial support. Tom played a prominent role in the founding of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through his role as Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Jean followed him in that role. Through their personal commitment, the Yawkeys inspired countless Red Sox players to have a role in supporting the young patients cared for at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. This support continued over many years and in 2011 The Yawkey Foundation made its largest gift to date: a $30 million Transformational Capital grant to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in honor of Tom and Jean Yawkey’s lifelong commitment to the Jimmy Fund. This grant, for the construction of the Yawkey Center for Cancer Care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, added 275,000 square feet of clinical and research space to Dana-Farber, including 104 exam rooms, 139 infusion chairs and 17 consultation rooms, providing a nearly 30 percent increase to Dana-Farber’s clinical capacity. Since its founding, the Institute has provided pediatric, and later adult, cancer patients with the best treatment available while simultaneously focusing on cutting-edge research to advance the field of cancer care.

he Yawkey Foundation has been providing charitable support to Boston Medical Center (BMC) for decades. In 2003, the Foundation made a $15 million transformational capital gift to the Center to support its mission to provide steadfast care to Boston’s neediest residents. With the donation, all cancer care and support services were centralized in BMC’s J. Joseph Moakley Medical Services Building and adjacent Yawkey Ambulatory Care Center. In 2017, the Yawkey Foundation provided a $500,000 grant to support the planning and design of renovated spaces, which would improve access to and capacity of BMC’s child and adolescent psychiatric care. In 2023, another grant totaling $3 million was donated to BMC. The grant allows the Center to expand Child & Adolescent Psychiatry resources and grow the program.

Bowdoin Street Health Center, part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, received a $1 million transformational capital grant from the Yawkey Foundation to support expanded access to care in the community, including the opening of an on-site pharmacy at Bowdoin Street Health Center.

After more than twenty years supporting Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program through strategic investment planning grants as the organization expanded and a $5 million transformational capital grant to support the construction of Jean Yawkey Place, a respite and recovery facility for people experiencing homelessness, the Yawkey Foundation continues to support the organization, most recently with a $450,000 Strategic Investment grant to support their critical and compassionate care for Boston’s most marginalized populations.