BYLINE: When Benevolence Met Gratitude in Cleveland

Until now, we've never witnessed patients meeting the donors whose philanthropic gifts help make the research and treatments behind lifesaving procedures possible.

Enter The Gratitude Sessions, a streaming series of short videos created by Cleveland Clinic and released in time for the season of gratitude. The eight sessions feature patients meeting some of the unseen architects of their healing—the compassionate folks whose philanthropy help fuel the groundbreaking research that saves and changes lives.

The eight emotional sessions include a heart transplant recipient, a woman with multiple sclerosis, a breast cancer survivor and a 10th grader in remission from Hodgkin lymphoma, each of them meeting individuals who generously contributed to the research aimed at preventing, treating or curing a condition the patient faced.

In session after session, viewers get to know these patients and donors as they meet for the first time and learn they have a great deal in common. Though they meet as strangers, they leave as friends. The viewer is there through their conversation and comes to realize that the donors themselves are as grateful as the patients. The donors are especially emotional when they hear first-hand the difference they were able to make in the life of someone else.

“The ripple effect of these encounters extends beyond the individuals involved”, says Lara Kalafatis, Chair of Cleveland Clinic’s Philanthropy Institute. “We hope The Gratitude Sessions will increase awareness for the importance of charitable giving and create a virtuous cycle of compassion and healing.”These touching meet-ups illuminate the profound strength of the human spirit, coupled with generosity, and the impact one person can have on another.

See for yourself at https://bit.ly/3sRsQtN, where you can stream every episode of The Gratitude Sessions.