Philanthropists Irene and Abe Pollin Make
$500,000 Donation to Support New National Health Museum

Major Gift Earns Community Leaders Designation as Museum “Founding Partners”

Louis W. Sullivan, MD, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Health Museum, has announced that prominent Washington, DC philanthropists and community leaders Irene and Abe Pollin have made a major gift of $500,000 to support the Museum’s development. The unrestricted donation, which has earned the Pollins designation as “Founding Partners” of the Museum, will be used to support key project activities, including the acquisition of a prominent site in Washington, DC and development of educational programming.

“This is a tremendous gift from two individuals known for their generous giving and visionary thinking,” said Dr. Sullivan. “Irene and Abe Pollin have made an indelible mark on our nation and its capital city, supporting countless worthy causes and investing and believing in the revitalization of downtown Washington, DC. Their investment in this early stage of the Museum’s development signals that they believe in it, too, which is both exciting and gratifying.”

The gift, which was funded through the Linda and Kenneth Pollin Foundation, raises to nearly $3 million the amount of new “seed money” from public and private sector sources secured over the last two months to support the Museum’s development. Other funds recently raised include a $750,000 donation from the John P. McGovern Foundation and a $1 million US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grant announced in October by HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson.

“Washington, DC is the ideal home for this extraordinary museum,” said Mr. and Mrs. Pollin. “Locating it here will help equip our citizens to achieve better health and inspire a new generation of young Washingtonians to become health scientists. This gift demonstrates our belief that a site can and should be secured soon for the Museum here in the District of Columbia.”

The Pollins have earned uncommon respect through decades of local, national and international leadership in business, community development, education and philanthropy. As the majority owners of Washington Sports & Entertainment, LP, they oversee the operations of the Washington Wizards and Washington Mystic professional basketball teams, and TicketMaster Washington/Baltimore. The 1997 opening of the MCI Center, their pioneering arena facility in downtown Washington, set off that area’s transformation into a thriving cultural and entertainment destination.

In addition to the Pollins’ gift, Dr. Sullivan announced that Mrs. Pollin has accepted an invitation to serve as a member of the Museum’s Board of Trustees.

“The news that Irene and Abe had decided to make this extraordinary gift was indeed wonderful but, as I told her, your expertise and presence on our board would mean as much as your dollars,” Dr. Sullivan said. “So we were delighted when she also agreed to serve.”

“I have been very impressed by Lou Sullivan’s leadership of this endeavor and Secretary Tommy Thompson’s commitment to its progress,” said Mrs. Pollin. “I have the utmost respect for both of these individuals and the determination they bring to all that they do. It will be a privilege to join with them and the many other committed supporters of this effort to help bring the vision for the Museum to life in Washington, DC.”

Irene Pollin, MSW, is a psychiatric social worker who has authored several books and written extensively on the subject of emotional management of long-term illness. A Lecturer at the Harvard University Department of Psychiatry, she created Medical Crisis Counseling, which develops health products that help people with chronic illnesses and their families manage their diseases. In addition to serving as President of the Linda and Kenneth Pollin Foundation, she is also Founder and President of Sister to Sister—Everyone Has a Heart Foundation, which is working to increase awareness of women’s heart disease and access to critical early screenings. She has served as a board member of numerous organizations including the American Cancer Society, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Washington Opera and the American University, her alma mater.

To be located in Washington, DC, the National Health Museum will use interactive, hands-on exhibits and cutting-edge educational techniques to motivate people of all ages to achieve better health, while exploring advances in health and medical discovery. It will feature health-oriented exhibitions and programming, a state-of-the-art health conference center and special resources for K-12 students from the District of Columbia and around the nation. In advance of its opening, it is achieving its mission through programmatic initiatives including its award-winning Web site, Access Excellenceâ, which provides health and life science teachers and learners with accurate and timely health and bioscience information resources.

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