Flyers Charities helping to make a ‘safe haven’ with the renovation of the home of a local girl battling cancer
Alex Sanheim and several other Flyers wives are leading the charge with the design and furnishing of the home, which is scheduled to be revealed on March 5.
One of Alex Sanheim’s favorite television shows growing up was Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
Now Alex, the wife of Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim, is getting the opportunity to experience what she calls “Extreme Makeover: Flyers Edition.” And all for a good cause.
In partnership with nonprofit Michael’s Way and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, Flyers Charities is renovating the Northwest Philadelphia home of 8-year-old Ronda Burns. Ronda, who was adopted by Joyce Burns in October 2024, is battling leukemia.
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Sanheim and several other Flyers wives are leading the charge with the design and furnishing of the Burns home.
“We’re all just trying to make life easier for this family,” said Misha Brière, wife of Flyers general manager Danny Brière. “They’ve been through an adoption, which can be a really challenging process. They’ve been through a pediatric cancer, which I can’t even imagine how difficult that is with leukemia.
“And I think we’re all just trying to create a safe haven, someplace that they can really come home and feel at peace and calm, and a beautiful space that they can enjoy, and make their lives a little bit easier in that realm.”
The renovation project is part of the relaunch of the Flyers’ Building Hope for Kids Initiative, which had been put on hiatus because of the pandemic. Together with Michael’s Way, Flyers Charities helped support eight previous families through the initiative. Events like Sunday’s Flyers Charities Carnival, Casino Night, and the Gritty 5K help fund the project.
Ever since the program was paused in 2020, many of the Flyers wives had been clamoring for its return. Bonnie Dillabaugh, wife of Flyers goalie coach Kim Dillabaugh, said this will mark her fifth time participating.
“Every hockey season, we’ve been able to fill out surveys,” Dillabaugh said. “And I know that there’s multiple wives that have written very large letters on the bottom of the survey to please bring this project back, because it is so rewarding.”
When Flyers Charities reached out to Michael’s Way about reviving their partnership, they jumped at the opportunity. The foundation worked with a social worker at St. Christopher’s Hospital to identify Ronda, who is in second grade, as the recipient of this year’s project.
Before the holidays, several of the Flyers wives, including Sanheim and Dillabaugh, stopped by the Burns home to surprise them with the news they had been selected.
“It was fun,“ Sanheim said. “[Ronda] didn’t really know what was going on at first, when we were all sitting around, like, ‘Are we having a party?’”
Now, the project is fully underway, with a grand reveal of the new house scheduled for March 5. The wives have split up into groups, and each is assigned to a different area of the house. Some of the teams include the dining room and living room, the kitchen, the primary bedroom, Ronda’s bedroom, and the backyard.
“Each of the individual groups is really in design and shopping mode,” said Cindy Stutman, executive director of Flyers Charities, who is overseeing the project. “I know Misha and Joan Hilferty just went last week and brought back a ton of stuff for Joyce’s bedroom, and so I think that they’re picking colors and putting together ideas and stuff, and we are putting the finishing touches on a trip to go furniture shopping. So that will be the last big thing we all do together, before going back in and decorating.”
The wives returned to the house last month to take some measurements and start planning the designs. At that point, the construction team had stripped down the interior of the house, and was in the process of putting up new drywall.
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One of the most significant changes planned for the home is the addition of a second bathroom. A stair lift will also be added to increase accessibility in the house as Ronda undergoes her medical treatments. And to give her more space, the spare room will become Ronda’s new bedroom, while her old bedroom will become a playroom.
“I feel like just in general, it’s going to feel like a completely new space to them,” Sanheim said.
All this work will culminate in a block party in the Northwest Philly neighborhood in March after the grand reveal. The Burns family and the local community will come together with Flyers players and their wives to celebrate the completion of the house.
But the wives hope the block party won’t be the end of it, and that the revived partnership will continue for years.
“It’s really cool to watch a very large-scale effort like this on an entire home that’s going to truly, truly change the lives of like a family that has been through such a tough time,” Brière said. “It’s kind of cool to watch that actually come to fruition and kind of compliment the Flyers Charities and all the work of these girls.”