Just before she started working at Wellness House more than a decade ago, Lisa Kolavennu’s father was diagnosed with cancer. As Executive Director of Wellness House in Hinsdale, she brings that experience to work with her every day.

“I’ve worked for nonprofit organizations since graduate school, and I’ve been a Wellness House now for 13 years. My father was diagnosed with cancer just before that,” Kolavennu says. “So, the mission of what people were doing at Wellness House was so compelling to me, I really felt called in some way to be a part of that and to develop my work to that mission.”

With a background in psychology, Kolavennu is the perfect leader for Wellness House.

“Everything we do is to support people who are diagnosed with cancer or impacted by cancer as a family member or friend,” she says. “We know that traditional medical care is critical for people who are going through cancer and yet there’s so much more that is left unaddressed that has a significant impact on their overall wellbeing and even their health outcomes.”

Kolavennu says that so many aspects of its patients’ lives are changed when they are diagnosed with cancer and that it’s important for Wellness House to offer its programs free of charge.

“We’ve been doing this for 30 years and that’s always been essential. At the same time, we believe it’s important to offer our programs by licensed and credentialed professionals who really have experience in their field of expertise, so patients feel cared for,” she says. “It’s the best combination of science and heart brought together for people because we believe that leads to the best outcomes.”

In recent years, the organization has launched a concerted effort to get its programs to people who can’t come to its main location in Hinsdale. Wellness House has embarked on several partnerships in the Chicago area so that communities—especially underserved communities—can access its programs as well.

“Our main location continues to be the heart of the organization in the community, and so we can learn things and develop things then absolutely expand the footprint to the Chicago area to serve more people,” Kolavennu says. “What’s really fascinating these days is that it can go far beyond Chicago because we’ve learned so much about how to do programs online during the pandemic.”

Because offering programs free of charge is central to its mission, Wellness House has established a number of ways the public can support its work, both financially and through volunteering. It operates a resale shop in downtown Hinsdale—The Courtyard— staffed almost entirely by volunteers, and it also raises money through grants from family foundations.

Most significantly, Wellness House holds two fundraising events each year, the Walk for Wellness House in the spring and the Wellness House Ball in the fall. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, both events were held virtually this year, but Kolavennu hopes 2021 events can be held, at least in part, in person. The events provide critical support for the organization’s mission.

“To continually receive gratitude from people and see the difference it makes in their lives, that’s a number one motivator,” Kolavennu says. “I want to continue to do this kind of work and be of service in this way.”

For more information on how to support Wellness House, visit wellnesshouse.org.