Our Vision

To establish Donel’s House of Hope as a leading Healthcare Housing Organization in the Upper Valley region.

We aim to provide housing for patients and their families that:

• Is in close proximity to hospitals and care facilities like Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC)

• Is affordable to all

• Fosters wellbeing and a sense of community for all residents

• Provides support to immuno-compromised patients and their family members

Our Story

Our mission at Donel’s House of Hope is the answer for families that would otherwise have no option to stay by their loved-one’s side. This home will foster a community that shares both brokenness and optimism within the experience of cancer. We hope that those affected by this disease will not have to face it alone nor be burdened further with the stress of logistics. By providing a full-functioning home that meets the basic, environmental needs of patients and family, those who find themselves on the path of cancer will be received into a community filled with hospitality, hope, and love.

Donel D’cruze: husband, father, friend

You meet someone like Donel D’cruze once in your lifetime. He was an incredible man filled with love and generosity. Twenty years ago, he came to America from India with his beautiful wife, Nina, and two young daughters, Dina and Tiffany. Nina, Dina, and Tiffany were the heartbeat of his life. He was involved in every aspect of his family; school, sports, church, etc. Always present, always loving.

He worked in IT at Dartmouth College for twenty years. He was well respected and beloved by his colleagues. He loved his position at the college and mentored many.

In the fall of 2015, Donel was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, he was induced with chemotherapy, re-induced, and fought a battle no one should ever endure. His brother was a 10/10 HLA match and in May of 2016 he received an allogeneic bone marrow transplant (BMT). After recovering from his BMT, he spent the next year returning to his work with the colleagues he loved and respected, lived his life, and loved his beautiful wife and daughters. He always had an uplifting outlook on life, but his BMT opened his eyes even more to the glory of family, friends and all that was important to him.

On holidays and special occasions, Donel, his family and friends, would visit the Hematology/Oncology unit where he received all of his treatments, to spread his love and gratefulness (and bring lots of food too!). 

In the summer of 2017, after a well needed family vacation he fell ill and then he relapsed with AML.

Donel passed away peacefully on November 17, 2017 at home with his family at his side.

Nina feels so blessed to have lived so close to DHMC while Donel was hospitalized. To run across town, take a shower, regroup and get back to DHMC where she would spend her nights sleeping at his bedside, was a blessing. She met so many family members who could not be at their loved ones' side, day to day, as she was able, due to living so far away from DHMC.

Nina’s experience inspired her to establish Donel’s House of Hope with her two daughters. Donel’s House of Hope is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization that seeks to construct a physical house in the Upper Valley - a home-away-from-home- for those who are traveling long distances to receive cancer treatment. This home would not only provide necessary lodging for those families and patients, but moreover, a sense of community -- a place of belonging and support - that not only enhances patient care and recovery, but fosters an encouraging and supportive community of families whose lives have been affected by cancer. Modeled after Donel’s own courage and compassion in the face of cancer, Donel’s House of Hope seeks to provide an affordable, accessible, and immunosuppressant-friendly lodging for those affected by cancer.