The Brent Eley Foundation was established in 1997 by Donn and Linda Eley, as a tribute to their son Brent who passed away in 1987 at the age of 14 after battling Rhabdomyosarcoma – a rare, aggressive type of cancer.
The Eley family had to travel to Iowa City more than 700 miles away from their home, family and friends for Brent’s bone marrow transplant. The Eley family had to navigate doctor appointments, an unfamiliar place and very limited housing options without their support network.
Although Brent spent the majority of his 160 day stay in the hospital while his parents coordinated his care from an apartment they rented nearby, they recognized a critical need for “Safe-Clean” housing for families in their same position.
The Eley family returned to Denver without Brent but with the awareness of how to make a practical and critical difference in the lives of children and their families facing similar challenges.
The Brent Eley Foundation opened the first Brent’s Place in 1998 as a home away from home, suitable for pediatric patients to recover from bone marrow transplantation while living with their families.
In 2009, Brent’s Place opened a state-of-the-art facility, just blocks from Children’s Hospital Colorado and continues to be the pioneer of “Safe-Clean” housing for pediatric cancer patients and their families.
Since then, they have expanded their campus to include additional housing and apartment units, and continue to serve about 250 families every year.