About Us
Established in 2008, the Zaccone Family Foundation has focused on supporting health, education and welfare. Three generations of family members sit on its board ensuring that core values are passed on from generation to generation. To date, the foundation has donated over $1,969,352 to qualifying people and institutions in Chicago, Illinois and Sarasota, Florida.
Several of the projects the foundation has been involved with are noted below. In addition to providing financial support, the family is involved in volunteer work in their communities.
Ascension Saint Joseph Hospital
- In 2011, equipment was purchased to identify the sentinel node in an easier, less invasive and painless way and can be used for all cancers. The sentinel node is a critical diagnostic test for staging cancer.
- The funds for 2012 purchased equipment that checks a tumor’s margins for any residual cancer during surgery confirming that clear margins were found.
- In 2013, funds were used for Image Guided Radiation Therapy. Through IGRT technology, the radiation oncology team synthesizes data obtained from CT scans, PET scans and MRIs to map the same, density and contour of the tumor, design angles of delivery that spare healthy tissue and calculate the exact dosage needed to destroy the targeted area. All this work reduces side effects, dramatically enhancing the patients’ health and well-being during treatment and throughout the course of their lives post-treatment.
- In 2014, funds were directed to the future Mark M. Connolly Center for Cancer & Specialty Care and the Zaccone Family Holistic Center.
- In 2015, funds have been designated to SAVI SCOUT Surgical Guidance system. The SAVI SCOUT uses electromagnetic wave technology to assist surgeons to precisely locate and direct the removal of cancerous tissue during a biopsy or lumpectomy. The ability to precisely locate a tumor enables the surgeon to achieve complete cancer removal while conserving breast tissue and reduces the likelihood of follow-up surgeries. This technology makes the removal process much easier and less painful, with a faster recovery time for patients.
- Since 2016 all donations and funds have been directed to the Mark M. Connolly Center for Cancer & Specialty Care and the Zaccone Center for Holistic Healing.
Mercy Home for Boys & Girls
Since 2010 we have made sure that the senior graduates have the experience of attending prom including the proper dress, suit, shoes, and accessories.
We have also funded college educations since 2011 through the Legacy of Learning program, and we collect gently used clothes for the kids to wear to interviews and school.
Yet it doesn’t end there. We also put on cooking classes, etiquette classes and provide mentorships through qualified ZFF volunteers.
University of Chicago
Cancer Research Foundation
The Zaccone Family Microsurgery Fellowship program has supported one student a year since 2010. Seven students have graduated and are practicing around the United States and Europe, including South Dakota, North Carolina, Illinois, Rhode Island, Israel, and Spain, allowing more people access to finer microsurgical skills, techniques, and procedures.
A Letter from the
Foundation Directors
A Letter from the Directors
The Zaccone Family Foundation impacts health, education and welfare and our philanthropic partnerships have helped train young physicians, improve health care through state-of-the-art equipment and support children’s education and welfare.
Our first event surpassed our expectations earning $86,389.97 and 100% of those dollars were divided equally among the benefactors for 2012; A Silver Lining Foundation, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Mercy Home for Boys & Girls and the University of Chicago Cancer Research Foundation.
Our second event benefited Mercy Home for Boys & Girls and raised $119,507. For several years we have funded prom for every senior boy or girl that wanted to attend, as well as donated to an education fund to assist with college costs. By reaching out to friends like you, we’ve also helped the kids who have graduated by providing gently used suits and dresses for their job interviews and future careers. Several years ago we added an opportunity to "Send a Kid to Camp".
In October of 2015, through support from The Zaccone Family Foundation, the Zaccone Center for Holistic Healing and the Mark M Connolly Center for Cancer and Specialty Care at St. Joseph Hospital in the Lakeview area of Chicago was made possible. Available to everyone who enters the door is a modern cancer center located on one floor with all disciplines necessary to handle a cancer diagnosis (surgery, chemo, labs, radiation & clinical appointments), and nestled within the center is an area that looks at the other side of living with cancer, the mind and spirit. The Zaccone Center for Holistic Healing is a space that provides acupuncture, massage, diet and nutrition, yoga classes and counseling to those experiencing a cancer diagnosis.
Our third Planting the Seed event that we underwrite every two years, will take place on September 24, 2016, and we hope that you will save that date in your calendars. One hundred percent of ticket sales, silent and live auctions and other undertakings in the works for our event will benefit this cancer and holistic center that holds a special place in the Zaccone family's hearts. Dr. Connolly saved Suzanne's life and sanity not just once but through two cancer diagnoses.
We hope you consider joining us on September 24th for our 3rd Planting the Seed event and support the gift of good health... for the mind, body and spirit. Thank you.
Please save the date!
Loretta, Suzanne, Shere and D.R. (Bob) Zaccone
Surviving Breast Cancer with Laughter, Vodka, Smoothies and an Attitude
Raw and unflinching, this story is the stuff of other women’s lives – of mothers and daughters and sisters, and of the sisterhood that forms when women are united against a common enemy.