A Philadelphia Philanthropist
For Elizabeth Pesce, Philanthropy is a Pathway to Hope for New Cancer Treatments and Cures
Spend some time with Elizabeth Pesce, and it’s clear that she’s a deeply caring and empathetic person. She’ll talk to you about her children, her pets, her extended family, and her involvement in outside organizations. There’s no question she is devoted to helping others, regardless of whether it involves her time, energy, or even financial resources.
That commitment is something that was instilled in Elizabeth from a young age. Her father, Louis C. Washburn, served as an estate planner at a prominent Philadelphia law firm and understood the importance of charitable giving. Not only did he encourage his clients to support nonprofits as part of their financial plans, he also urged his family to exhibit the same commitment.
“He was raised to believe, ‘to whom much is given, much is required,’ and that is how I was raised,” explains Pesce. “He taught the power of giving not through rhetoric, but through example.”
Pesce’s family has deep roots in the Philadelphia region, stretching back more than 350 years. Her great grandfather helped construct the Neighborhood House just off 2nd Street in Old City, served as the minister of the adjacent Christ Church, and commissioned the “Penny Franklin” statue that was displayed in the courtyard. Her father inherited that same civic pride, and became deeply involved with the Red Cross, where he volunteered during his teen years and eventually rose to become president of the Southeast Pennsylvania chapter and one of the forces behind the construction of the blood services building on Spring Garden Street.
As part of his longstanding ties to Philadelphia, Washburn developed a deep commitment to supporting local organizations, including The Wistar Institute. “He heard of Wistar through his work at the Red Cross,” Pesce explains. “Wistar was always in our lives, as long as I can remember.”
“Because he was an estate planner … he had a lot of very wealthy clients, and he was always very keen on having them support Philadelphia institutions. Wistar was one that he always recommended because he passionately believed in their research.”
After her father’s passing in 1998 from chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and her own diagnosis of breast cancer in 1997, Elizabeth took up the mantle and continued to support The Wistar Institute, even serving on its Leadership Council, a role she continues today. In 2006, along with her mother Barbara and her siblings, Dee and Mark, she created the Louis C. Washburn Memorial Fund in honor of her father. The fund is devoted to cancer research.
“I recently passed the 27th anniversary of my breast cancer diagnosis,” Pesce explains. “I was 35, had no family history of breast cancer, no genetic predisposition – everything came up negative. That’s why the Louis C. Washburn fund focuses on supporting cancer research, and specifically the factors that cause cancer, irrespective of the type of cancer.”
Her father’s belief in the power of basic research, combined with his deep interest in new, more effective ways of treating cancer, made him an ardent supporter of Wistar, and he passed that devotion on to his children. “It’s an amazing place,” Pesce says of Wistar. “Wistar researchers can follow wherever the research takes them.”