Corporate Donor’s Commitment to Pediatric Care

Grateful patient shares his story and the emotional significance of giving to the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center

As a child Jonathan Swyers suffered from intense headaches, but he never knew how to articulate the pain to his parents. By age 12, his headaches were becoming so severe, he was missing school. Trying to find a solution, Swyers’ parents took him to the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, where he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The tumor was pressing on his brainstem — the structure that connects the brain and spinal cord.

“I had surgery within 48 hours of arrival. If I would have come to the hospital 72 hours later, I was told the tumor would have killed me,” says Swyers. “Johns Hopkins saved my life.”

After a month’s recovery, Swyers returned to his sixth-grade classroom and has been tumor-free ever since. “I was lucky,” he says.

Fast-forward 30 years from his surgery, Swyers is the CEO of Monument Metals, a precious metals and rare coins business, headquartered in Frederick, Maryland. The Children’s Center continues to offer one of the most comprehensive pediatric medical programs in the country and is ranked nationally in 10 specialties, including pediatric neurology and neurosurgery.

Monument Metals supports the Children’s Center through corporate giving — a form of philanthropy where a company can contribute through employee giving, in-kind donations, or sponsorships. The Children’s Center is the exclusive “round up partner” on the Monument Metals website, inviting customers to round up their purchases to support the center. The company also makes outright gifts.

“We are grateful to Monument Metals for joining our community of corporate partners and committing to support the mission of Johns Hopkins Children’s Center,” says Jen Doyle, executive director of development – Women’s and Children’s Health at Johns Hopkins Medicine. “Donations provided through this partnership will enable our dedicated staff to continue providing the most compassionate and comprehensive care to children and their families.”

Swyers calls it a full-circle moment.

“It’s about helping a place that helped me survive; it’s about helping children,” he says. “I feel a responsibility to give back.”

When Swyers reflects back on his care, he underscores the compassion his surgeon Dr. Ben Carson and the entire medical staff showed his family. Carson, a renowned physician and longtime director of pediatric neurosurgery, retired from Johns Hopkins in 2013. Swyers says he didn’t fully understand the magnitude of the procedure at the time, however, now as a parent himself, he feels empathy for his parents and the uncertainty they were facing.

“Looking back, the staff managed the emotions of my parents, who clearly understood the seriousness of my situation. There was care and sensitivity,” he explains. “They took time with my parents who were understandably beside themselves.”

Swyers sees the same values — trust, integrity, and service — on which he built his company at Johns Hopkins. He states by partnering with the Children’s Center, he’s showing his community and customers that Monument Metals is committed to pediatric causes.

“I started my business of selling precious metals by myself and now years later our level of success is beyond anything I have ever imaged. We are in an amazing position to help,” says Swyers. “We are trying to make a difference. It feels good.”