The Gracely Family

Inspired by Children

The Gracely family — Mary and Tony, their children A.J., Adam, and Jill, and their daughter-in-law Siobhan — made a $200,000 pledge to support efforts to accelerate pediatric neuroscience research and bring hope to children worldwide.

Moved to Action

Fourteen million young Americans under the age of 19 have a diagnosed neurological disorder. That statistic hit home with Mary and Tony Gracely, who have a nephew with Asperger syndrome, a form of autism. After hearing Dr. Huda Zoghbi, Director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital, speak about her research, Mary Gracely was prompted to take action.

"The strides that are being made to catch some of these childhood neurological illnesses early on and serve these children when they are so young so their lives are improved immediately was truly moving to me," she explains. "When I told my family about this, they were equally as moved, and we all felt it was important to support the Neurological Research Institute."

Giving to Help Children

Their generous contribution to the NRI is the family's largest philanthropic commitment to date. "We're so grateful to have a world-class hospital right here in the Houston area," says Jill Gracely. "Our family is honored to be a part of the campaign for Texas Children's Hospital." A recent tour of the hospital made the family realize that they wanted to support the work of Texas Children's Cancer Center as well — with a $50,000 donation. The Gracelys' combined gifts are helping to build a future full of hope for children suffering from the most serious medical conditions.