A fundraiser supporting those doing a good thing may not be all that unusual in the Pittsburgh area.
A polo match might be.
But after being held for more than 40 years, the annual Family House Polo Match has become a tradition at Hartwood Acres in Hampton.
“It is certainly a unique event,” said Laura Miller, of Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze neighborhood. Miller has been attending the match with family and friends for at least 15 years. “You don’t have a chance to see a polo match anywhere else in Pittsburgh.”
Family House staged its 43rd annual polo match Saturday, turning the lawn at the Allegheny County park into a polo field for the day.
“This is a Pittsburgh tradition. Family House is proud to host it,” said Drew Keys, chairman of the board for Family House. “We have families that come every year.”
Around 3,500 people regularly attend the event that each year raises about $250,000 for Family House, a nonprofit which since 1983 has provided an affordable place to stay for families traveling from near and far to the city for medical care, spokesman Jeff Milliner said.
“We cater to people that are going through very difficult times as a result of a health care challenge,” Keys said. “It feels like home.”
After beginning with a single location and 39 rooms, Family House grew over the years to four locations before consolidating into one.
In July 2021, Family House bought a former Courtyard by Marriott in the city’s Bloomfield neighborhood, near UPMC Shadyside hospital, which it renovated and opened to guests a year later.
Family House has hosted people from 20 countries and all 50 states, from as near as New Castle to as far away as Hawaii and Iceland, Milliner said.
The facility features five room types with rates ranging from $99 for double occupancy, up to $150 for an apartment per night.
Most of the week, it’s 85% to 90% occupied, and full sometimes, Milliner said.
Rates were last changed as of Aug. 1. An assistance program has been available since 1986 to help low-income families and those needing long stays.
“We try to keep our rates as affordable as possible to help provide an affordable home away from home,” he said.
A challenge of the new location was keeping that “home feel” in what had been a hotel, Keys said. The first floor was redesigned to specifically not feel like a hotel, with features including a living room, dining room and kitchen.
Miller, an attorney for UPMC Health Plan, has been to Family House, volunteering to cook dinner for guests. According to her, the goal of it feeling like a home instead of a hotel was accomplished.
“It gives them a home away from home when they need it,” she said. She said that being there is “pretty humbling.”
The polo match, sponsored for a sixth year by FNB Corp., was a contest between the Pittsburgh Polo Club, sponsored by Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, and the Potomac Polo Club, from Maryland and backed by #1 Cochran.
Pittsburgh won, 13-9, with the match wrapping up before storms came in.
The Songburghs, an a cappella group at the University of Pittsburgh, performed the national anthem. Country artist Justin Fabus, of Dormont, threw out the first ceremonial ball.
Alison Zambelli, of Marshall, said her family and friends have come for three years. For this year, they upgraded their spot to right at the field near the announcing booth, where they had an upscale tailgate.
“It’s always amazing,” she said. “We all love horses. This is the only time we watch polo.”
While they come mostly for the polo, Zambelli said they’re happy to support Family House.
“It’s been a win-win every year,” she said.
