‘We’re incredibly grateful’: Flyers Charities leads full renovation of a local family’s home
The initiative was put on pause in 2020 during the pandemic. The Flyers’ families clamored for its return, and the Burnses are the first family whose home has been renovated since the pause.
The first time Joyce Burns entered her new home, she stood in the entryway for 15 minutes, just taking it all in.
Joyce’s daughter, Ronda, has leukemia, and in January, the family found out that they had been selected by Flyers Charities for a home makeover, in partnership with Michael’s Way and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, as part of the Flyers’ Building Hope for Kids initiative.
The Flyers’ wives and partners led a full renovation of the Burns home in North Philadelphia, adding a bathroom and a playroom and modernizing the kitchen and other rooms in the house.
“I didn’t know it would change this much!” 8-year-old Ronda said excitedly after seeing the full renovation.
The Burnses are the ninth family the Flyers have helped through the initiative, which was put on pause in 2020 during the pandemic. The Flyers’ families clamored for its return, and the Burnses are the first family whose home has been renovated since then.
The team originally planned a block party to celebrate the Burnses’ renovated home, but a record-setting rainstorm scaled down the party. Still, a number of players and wives all braved the weather to share in the joy and show them their new home.
“They were screaming,” said Blair Listino, president of Flyers Charities. “It was very loud. It was so exciting. Ronda spent, I would say, at least like 10 minutes in her room just checking out everything.
“Can you imagine going into your room for the first time and seeing all the little details? It’s like a hotel, you want to open up every drawer, you want to explore every nook and cranny. It was really impactful to see the joy that it brought to her.”
Travis Sanheim’s wife, Alex, led the charge in Ronda’s bedroom and playroom, which Ronda requested be purple. Sanheim, who loves interior design, was one of the biggest advocates for the return of the initiative this year.
“She’s done a lot of renovations and styling,” Travis Sanheim said. “We got a new house a couple years ago, so she’s styled the whole place, and she’s done a great job. It’s something that she really enjoys doing, interior designing, and I think you can tell in this house, and she did a great job.
“This is obviously something that she’s passionate about, being a part of this project. They hadn’t done it for a few years, and it was something that she wanted to bring back, so I’m really happy that she got to do it again.”
Lindsay Hathaway, whose husband, Garnet, joined the Flyers in 2023, had never been a part of a project like this. She, along with two other newbies, Carlie Cates and Taylor Tippett, helped design the kitchen, adding decorations and “little touches” to the design. They kept the colors neutral, but went shopping together to find all the little things they use in their own kitchens to give to the Burns family.
“I’ve moved five times over the course of Garnet’s career,” Hathaway said. “We’ve moved our whole family to new houses, so it always baffles me how much work there is into putting a house together, every time I do it. It’s a lot of work, but it’s a labor of love that we get to do this for our families, and now, for Ronda and Joyce and their family.”
The house isn’t quite finished — Flyers Charities plans to add a chairlift on the stairs to make it more accessible for Ronda as she goes through treatment. But after six weeks of construction, the family finally was able to move back in.
“We’re incredibly grateful to Michael’s Way, St. Christopher’s, and Flyers Charities for their hard work to make our dream house a reality,” Joyce Burns said. “Cancer affects millions of Americans in different ways, and we feel blessed that in this difficult time, our home can be a place of comfort and community.”