Give Back with Giving House: New, Unique Real Estate Sales Program Benefits Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center

Giving House is a first-of-its-kind program that turns real estate transactions into philanthropic endeavors

Real estate agents involved in the program donate a portion of their commission checks to a charitable organization

The first beneficiary of Giving House efforts will be Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center

Giving House donations will help support construction of a new in-patient "neighborhood" at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital, where more than 450 additional children will be treated each year

VALHALLA, N.Y., Oct. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center and the Giving Back Fund have announced the establishment of an unprecedented program that will impact children's healthcare in portions of New York State and Connecticut for years to come.

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The program, called Giving House, turns any real estate transaction – residential sales, purchases or rentals, as well as commercial sales or leasing – into a philanthropic endeavor.  Giving House matches buyers and sellers with top real estate agents, who in turn donate a portion of their commissions to a designated non-profit organization.

The first organization to benefit from the Giving House program will be the Children's Hospital Foundation at Westchester Medical Center, which supports Maria Fareri Children's Hospital, the advanced-care pediatric facility for New York's Hudson Valley and Fairfield County, Connecticut.  Funds generated through Giving House real estate transactions will help fund the construction of a new in-patient "neighborhood" at the hospital, enabling it to care for more than 450 additional children each year.

Giving House is the brainchild of real estate agents Kerry Fedigan-Cid and her husband, Steve, veteran real estate agents with Prudential Douglas Elliman in New York City.  As Westchester County residents, the Cids were inspired to launch Giving House after their daughter, Olivia, was treated at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital for a fractured skull sustained after a tumble from her bicycle.  Once the Cids witnessed the expert pediatric care and attention shown to their daughter by the Children's Hospital's staff, the couple had the impetus to link their profession, real estate, with philanthropy, an effort they had often discussed.

"In 2009, a down year, total real estate sales volume in Westchester County still topped $3.27 billion.*  That's a tremendous amount of money changing hands.  Why can't a portion of this money go to a worthwhile organization, particularly one like Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center that provides such an important service to the community?" remarked Steve Cid, Co-Founder and Vice President, Giving House.  "The idea seemed so simple and right, and we were surprised no one was executing it."

"Everyone is a winner in a Giving House transaction," added Kerry Fedigan-Cid, Co-Founder and President, Giving House.  "Both the clients and agents feel a real sense of accomplishment, plus their efforts benefit the entire community.  Having a world-class children's hospital in your backyard is a tremendous asset to local residents and one that makes our region a more desirable place to live."

"We are grateful that the Cids have chosen our hospital as the inaugural beneficiary of the Giving House program," commented Michael Gewitz, M.D., Physician-in-Chief, Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center. "And it's only fitting that funds generated through real estate transactions will support the construction of our new inpatient 'neighborhood,' where hundreds of children will be treated for complex medical conditions each year."

Added Fedigan-Cid: "It's not an exaggeration to say that Giving House will help support one of the most important construction projects in our area – the new neighborhood at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center."

For more information on the Giving House program, including how you can link with a Giving House agent or become one yourself, interested parties are encouraged to visit www.GivingHouse.org.

About Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center

Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center is the only all-specialty children's hospital in the Hudson Valley region and Fairfield County, Connecticut.  It is a local and national leader in pediatric care and an advocate for children's health and wellness.

The hospital is home to the area's only intensive care unit dedicated to the treatment of children as well as the region's only Level IV (most sophisticated) neonatal intensive care unit. Maria Fareri Children's Hospital's pediatric asthma research center is one of only a handful in the nation sponsored by the American Lung Association, and its pediatric cardiovascular surgery and pediatric transplant services are recognized for their success rates.

For more information on Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center, please visit www.WorldClassMedicine.com/MFCH.

About The Giving Back Fund

The Giving Back Fund (GBF) is a national public charity that creates and professionally manages charitable foundations and other philanthropic programs for athletes, entertainers, business entrepreneurs, and corporations. Since our founding in 1997, GBF has created a unique niche in encouraging and facilitating this new philanthropy, particularly among young people, women and people of color.  To date, GBF has provided philanthropic consulting, management and programs to more than 100 athletes, entertainers, entrepreneurs, and other high net worth individuals who are focused on increasing the impact of their philanthropy.  GBF has overseen the distribution of more than $20,000,000 in charitable grants within the United States and in other countries, and has developed dozens of unique scholarship, mentoring, medical, arts related, and other types of philanthropic programs.  For additional information, please visit www.GivingBack.org. 

*2009 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Residential Real Estate Sales Report, Westchester-Putnam Association of Realtors^®, Inc.

SOURCE Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center