It’s something very few people want to ever think about: What’s the best way to care for a dying child?
For some families, the George Mark Children’s House is the best answer to a question they never wanted to have to ask. And for nearly nine years, athletes from the San Francisco Giants have teamed up with one of the biggest names in Bay Area pizza — Tony Gemignani — to support the institution’s mission.
The crossover between the worlds of pro sports and philanthropy go back decades in the Bay Area, where many teams consider it an essential part of their community involvement. The Giants, for example, have donated more than $40 million to charitable causes since they launched their Community Fund in 1991. And Buster and Kristen Posey have long been known for their work with pediatric cancer organizations.
But this particular partnership began with a pizzaiolo.
Tucked into a quiet nook of San Leandro, the George Mark Children’s House was the first pediatric palliative care home in the nation when it opened 20 years ago. An oasis for families facing unimaginable sorrows, it was founded by Dr. Kathy Hull and modeled after programs in the U.K. to help terminally ill children and their families find joy in each remaining day together.
There are visits from ponies and puppies, a garden with Pixar-designed hummingbird sculptures, music and aquatic therapy. Small acts of magic occur daily. The staff at the nine-bed home takes care of its patients’ families, too, providing respite care when they need a little time away from the intense demands of caregiving.
It’s a personal mission for CEO Shekinah Eliassen, who stayed at George Mark Children’s House with her newborn son in 2012, after he was given a terminal diagnosis. For the last nine days of little Lars’ 21-day life, her family was able to have space, quiet and support while navigating a devastating experience.
Since Eliassen took the helm at George Mark Children’s House two years ago, the nonprofit has increased its patient population by 41 percent. It’s expanding its programs to serve children and young adults with cancer. A new aquatics facility with triple the capacity is set to open this spring, allowing them to offer outpatient aquatic therapy services. And a ramp-up in staffing following the pandemic means that often, there are one or two beds available, Eliassen says, so they’re eager to get the word out about their services.
“We should be the St. Jude’s of the Bay Area,” she says.
Providing all this — there is zero cost to the families who enter — requires major fundraising efforts, since only a small portion of the home’s roughly $6.4 million annual budget is covered by insurers. That’s where Gemignani and the Giants come in.
A Fremont native, Gemignani is pizza royalty. The 13-time World Pizza Champion is the pizzaiolo behind more than 30 restaurants, including the North Beach institution, Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, and Slice House in Walnut Creek, Mountain View and cities far and wide.
About 15 years ago, George Mark Children’s House asked Gemignani to help fulfill a child’s wish to make pizza together. The experience made such an impression on him, he has returned again and again to make pizzas with the children and their families.
“It’s sad,” he says, “but it’s a beautiful, beautiful place.”
As his Slice House empire grew over the years, the cause remained top of mind. So in 2016, he began a creative fundraiser for the nonprofit, partnering with the San Francisco Giants to develop signature pizzas based on participating athletes’ favorite toppings. The pizzas are featured on Slice House menus between April and mid-September with a portion of the sales — $6 per 20-inch pie or $1 per slice — going to George Mark Children’s House.
As the number of Slice House locations has expanded, so has the support. Last year alone, Gemignani raised $69,000 through pizzas developed with Giants pitcher Logan Webb and former outfielder Michael Conforto, bringing the total so far to about $250,000.
Gemignani will continue the tradition this season, swapping out Conforto’s Grand Slam pizza topped with pepperoni, pepper and hot honey for a new custom pie designed by a different player. But Webb’s Double Sausage pie should be back in all its tomato sauced, cheesy glory, topped with Italian sausage, sliced link sausage, Cup & Char thin pepperoni, red onions, oregano and garlic oil ($7.25 slice / $41.40 pizza).
Details: Find more information about George Mark Children’s House at https://georgemark.org/. Find Gemignani-Giants pizzas at Slice House locations around the Bay Area this season, including in Walnut Creek, San Leandro, Castro Valley, Mountain View, Belmont, Santa Clara, Milpitas and Millbrae, as well as at Oracle Park and Chase Center; https://slicehouse.com/.