Congratulations to the Beacon House for another amazing U.P. Celebrity Golf Classic, which included the announcement the organization will begin a capital campaign to build a new Beacon House near the new Duke LifePoint Hospital.

In an announcement made by longtime Beacon House supporter Steve Mariucci, former Detroit Lions head coach and Northern Michigan University quarterback, the “Legacy of Love” Capital Campaign Project is rolling now, with Mariucci and his wife, Gayle, handing over a check representing their $150,000 pledge to name the new facility’s outdoor courtyard for the Mariucci Family Foundation.

At the golf event, many more celebrities and sponsors pledged financial support for the new hospitality house location.

For those unfamiliar, Beacon House is an independent non-profit organization and does not charge guests for their stay, but instead asks guests to consider a donation that is affordable to them. It has been a blessing for families since opening its doors in 2002. In 2013, Beacon House incorporated the hospitality rooms in the hospital.

In all, the organization has provided more than 175,000 guest nights at both facilities.

Beacon House currently operates the house with 33 guest rooms on North Third Street, approximately one block from the hospital, as well as 11 rooms with 22 beds in the hospital itself, according to a news release from Beacon House.

The new Duke LifePoint hospital plans do not include the hospitality rooms, but UP Health System Regional President Jim Bogan has expressed their intent to support Beacon House.

“We are currently working with Beacon House to help secure property near the new hospital and ensure this important resource continues to be available to our patients and their families,” Bogan said. “We are committed to this cause, and will make every possible effort to help keep Beacon House operational and viable to the people of the Upper Peninsula for the future.”

The new hospital will be 15 blocks away from the existing Beacon House location.

“When a loved one is in critical condition, the only place you want to be is by their side,” Mariucci said in the news release. “If Beacon House stays where it is, many people will not consider it as an option, being so far from where they need to be – 15 blocks is like a million miles when you’re at your unconscious child’s bedside.”

Beacon House plans to seek support over the next six-eight months from the Upper Peninsula communities it serves to determine if the financial support is there to build a new Beacon House in closer proximity to the new hospital. Estimates are it will cost nearly $6.4 million for a 60-room facility, which would include family suites, a children’s playroom, a community family-style kitchen, guest television lounge, a designated lounge for cancer patients with compromised immune systems.

We hope many around the U.P. step up for Beacon House just as Beacon House has stepped up for families for more than a decade.

To contribute to the Beacon House “Legacy of Love” capital campaign, make a donation or pledge online at www.upbeaconhouse.org or by calling 906-225-7100. For additional information, contact Mary Tavernini Dowling at mary@upbeaconhouse.org or 906-360-6000.

Please help if you can. You’ll be making life just a bit easier for families in the throes of medical crisis.