On May 18, 2018, the Boykin family pledged $10 million to support Cleveland Clinic’s Taussig Cancer Institute. Paula Jo and Robert (Bob) Boykin and Kristina and John (Jack) Boykin – made their gift in honor of Bob and Jack’s mother, Audrey M. Boykin, who passed away from cancer in 1990.

Their father, William Boykin, worked in his family’s real estate business, which co-developed Cleveland’s Westgate Shopping Center, before starting a hotel company in 1958. The new company became a success and expanded over time. Bob and Jack, having grown up in the business, eventually became its leaders and built it to the point where it was employing 5,000 workers at many locations across the United States. In 2006, Bob and Jack sold the public company they created, Boykin Lodging, and relocated their headquarters to Charlotte.

Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States.