Sundi Herring was sitting in the dining room of Charleston’s Hope Lodge one morning last week when something extraordinary happened. The sun, rising over the Holy City, began its slow and steady creep through the lodge’s wide windows. The golden morning light stretched across the wooden floorboards, meandered over the long dining tables, and settled against the soft yellow walls. The warmth—the consuming brightness—felt different that morning. It was as if the house itself was exhaling, letting in the light. Herring, who has spent more than two decades helping to fund and sustain Hope Lodge, felt overwhelmed.
She had seen it before—the way darkness and disease can steal the light from people’s lives. But here, in this house built on hope and held together by the generosity of a community, the light always finds a way back in.
Since 1970, Charleston’s Hope Lodge has been just that—a beacon. The first of its kind in the country, Hope Lodge was founded by Margot Freudenberg, a Charleston physical therapist and activist, after she witnessed similar facilities abroad. She believed cancer patients deserved more than a sterile waiting room or a lonely hotel stay. They needed a home—a place of comfort, support, and most importantly, community.
Today, that legacy continues. But as Herring, who now serves as the head of philanthropy for Hope Lodge, will tell you, keeping those doors open requires more than goodwill. It requires action.
That’s where Dave Lorenz and Jon Bushnell, owners of Islander 71, come in.
On March 15, the waterfront restaurant will host "Shucking for Hope Lodge," an oyster roast with all proceeds going directly to Hope Lodge. For Bushnell, who has his own familial ties to cancer, this mission is deeply personal.
“Many families are affected by cancer, and Hope Lodge is more than just a place to stay while loved ones get treatment; it’s a refuge of comfort and support in people’s deepest time of need. It’s an excellent organization that helps families when they need it most,” he said.
Events like these, Herring says, are a lifeline.
“So many cancer patients from all over the Carolinas come here,” she explains. “The cost of hotels in Charleston is exorbitant. To stay downtown is so expensive, and the average stay needed is 20 nights. Some of our transplant patients are with us for 100 days.”
Hope Lodge doesn’t just provide a free place to stay—it offers something even more invaluable: community.
“Patients often tell us they’d rather be here than at the fanciest hotel in Charleston,” Herring shares. “Because when you’re here, you’re surrounded by people who truly understand what you’re going through.”
Herring understands all too well. Three years ago, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“I know what that dark cloud feels like,” she admits. But the experience only deepened her commitment. “Financial toxicity is a huge, unspoken part of the cancer journey. Hope Lodge helps people keep their cars, their houses, and their kids in college. It helps them afford medications—whatever they need to keep going and focus on healing.”
It’s why she dedicates so much of her time to fundraising. Each Hope Lodge across the country is responsible for its own operating costs.
“We have to raise these funds to keep our doors open,” she says. “Hope Lodge is totally free to patients because donors have paid the bill. When we tell people that, it’s like the floodgates open. So many things have gone wrong for them, and suddenly, something is finally going right.”
Herring says, “We’re all about reducing the barriers to care. You can have the best treatments available, but if you can’t get to them, it doesn’t matter. So, we provide transportation as well.”
The upcoming oyster roast is an opportunity not just to enjoy the Lowcountry’s finest seafood, but to give back. Against the backdrop of the Intracoastal Waterway, guests will gather for a day filled with fresh oysters, cocktails, and live music—all while raising money for a cause that has made a difference in thousands of lives.
And if you can’t attend? There are other ways to help. Donations are always welcome, and Hope Lodge invites volunteers through its “Dining with Hope” program, where groups can come in and prepare a meal for guests. The lodge also keeps a wish list of essential items online.
“Our home needs the same things your home needs,” Herring says. “We have four kitchens that are constantly in use and 18 rooms that always need care.”
At the heart of it all, Herring believes in one fundamental truth: cancer is a battle best fought together. She shares a small but powerful visual:
ILLNESS vs. WELLNESS
“When you’re isolated, when you’re trying to battle cancer alone, it’s ‘I’—and that’s illness. But when you have community, when you know you have people walking beside you, that’s ‘we.’ That’s wellness. I’ve seen that mind shift from ‘I’ to ‘we’ create a path toward healing here at Hope Lodge so many times.”
Hope Lodge hosts a reunion every spring for former guests. “You know, maybe some patients come back with hair, or they’ve returned to work, and they’re making plans for the future,” Herring says. “It seems small, but those types of things inspire a lot of hope.”
And that’s what Hope Lodge is all about. It’s why, after 55 years, the light still floods in.
To purchase tickets for the event at Islander 71, visit ISLANDER71.COM.
