$50 million gift to children’s hospital for cancer research from Tamara Gustavson family

Seattle Children’s Hospital received a $50 million donation from the Tamara Gustavson-led William Lawrence & Blanche Hughes Foundation to further childhood cancer research and prevention, the hospital announced.

The donation is one of the largest gifts given to the hospital by an individual donor in its history.

The foundation is based in California and focuses its philanthropic efforts on furthering research on pediatric acute lymphocytic leukemia.

To honor the donation, the hospital will rename the Seattle Children’s Research Institute building at 1920 Terry Ave. in honor of B. Wayne Hughes, founder of Public Storage and American Homes 4 Rent.

“We are deeply grateful for the William Lawrence and Blanche Hughes Foundation and the Hughes family’s incredible generosity, which will enable our talented teams to continue expanding their groundbreaking work,” Jeff Sperring, Seattle Children’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.

The $50 million donation is the latest from the foundation to the hospital. Previously, the hospital was given $50 million to fund pediatric immunotherapy cancer research.

Hughes started the foundation after losing his son, Parker, at age 8 to leukemia in 1988. The foundation was named after Hughes’ parents.

“My father, Wayne Hughes, always wanted to not only cure childhood leukemia but to help create a future free of pediatric cancers so that fewer families suffer the traumatic loss of a child,” Tamara Gustavson, director of the foundation, said at the announcement.