Our Vision
Healing & Harmony
The Donovan Family Foundation is committed to creating a world where every individual has the opportunity to heal, thrive, and contribute to a harmonious society. We believe in the power of unity, compassion, and community to bring about positive change, and we are dedicated to supporting diverse programs that promote healing and harmony in our communities.
From Legacy to Foundation
Rooted in this legacy, the Donovan Family Foundation was formed to expand that compassion into a sustainable, community-driven mission.
Guided by a belief in holistic well-being, the foundation empowers and uplifts individuals across all walks of life through education, mindfulness, movement, and community engagement — creating pathways to healing and harmony for the mind, spirit, and body.
Our Team
Inspired by a deep sense of purpose and family legacy of helping others, Beth and her family committed to the founding of the Donovan Family Foundation to ensure the family’s shared values continue to make a lasting difference for generations to come.
We are thankful to our board members, family members, friends and community who go above and beyond to support this mission.
The Donovan Legacy
History
Dr. David C. Donovan, II, MD, a pathologist, and Elizabeth Ann “Liz Ann” Donovan, a nurse, spent their lives together taking care of the sick and injured, helping cure illnesses, and expanding their skills and knowledge for diagnosing, treating and stopping disease. By example, they taught their children David, Julia and Elizabeth about taking care of others in need.
Liz Ann was known for her tough love and “get your Irish up” encouragement with patients in hospital emergency rooms as well as with neighbors in their living rooms or friends in the grocery store. Dr. Donovan took keen interest in unique cases and was always willing to review a person’s lab work, medical test results or a diagnosis and offer a second opinion, options and reassurance. While Liz Ann was still taking shifts in the local ER, Dr. Donovan devoted his golden years in medicine reviewing medical files of incarcerated individuals seeking humane treatment, protection of their rights as patients and to hold those providing medical care in Maryland prisons accountable for a standard of care.
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In 2017, Julia and sister Beth co-founded Four Green Fields, LLC and established a licensed medical cannabis dispensary in Dublin, Maryland (Harford County) with four pillars of purpose in mind: to provide compassionate care, to empower patients to become their own health advocates, to broaden the concept of wellness and to inspire alternative health care options. Just a few eventful years later Julia would become patient number one and an inspiration to all who witnessed her journey with disease or had the good fortune of crossing her path. A mother, a sister, an aunt, a peacemaker, a shelter volunteer, the matriarch of 28 cousins in a large Irish clan and a champion of the underdog; Julia made everybody feel like somebody. A devoted member of the Roman Catholic Church, she offered a compassionate ear to those who were suffering, providing solace, presence, and support.
After Julia departed this life in 2020, the Julia A. Donovan Four Green Fields Foundation, Inc. was formed to honor her wishes and legacy through charitable endeavors including mental health services, facilitating support groups, homelessness and pets as therapy.
Unexpectedly, Beth’s brother David passed later that same year. David was a husband, father, brother, uncle, sponsor, teammate, coach, cousin to dozens in the same large Irish clan, a man’s man, and a generous and quiet benefactor to countless friends and strangers alike in their times of need. Dave’s big heart and humanity were exemplified through meetings and encounters with friends in AA and his belief in a Higher Power. Amid his own lifelong struggle with addiction, he shepherded others in their journey for serenity.
Giving a leg up to the less fortunate, opening doors for the advancement of others needing a break, answering the calls from others in AA and their families, visiting wounded veterans at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, are things David did with discretion and a drive to uplift others, leaving his own legacy of empathy and charity for individuals coping with addition and for those of limited means.
Julia and David Donovan dedicated much of their lives to the service of others, especially those in need.
Their selflessness knew no bounds, often prioritizing the well-being of others over their own.
Honoring Legacies
Helping Others
In the wake of losing both of these extraordinary individuals, their spirit of generosity and helping others did not fade — it multiplied. Inspired by Dr. Donovan’s and Liz Ann’s careers in health care and the lives Julia and David lived so quietly and selflessly, their sister, Beth and her children felt a deep responsibility for carrying their values forward. They recognized that the simple, yet powerful acts Dr. Donovan, Liz Ann, Julia and David practiced — showing up, listening, offering comfort to others, honoring dignity — could reach and uplift far more people if done together in an organized fashion with collective intention. The original foundation evolved with David’s untimely passing to realize a broader vision.
The Donovan Family Foundation is here to honor legacies of Beth’s parents and siblings and her children’s grandparents, aunt and uncle, by transforming compassion into action — extending care, hope, and support to those who need it most, just as they always did in unique ways.
Their legacy of empathy, kindness, and service in helping others continues to inspire and guide everything we do.