John and Maria Polli have been ensuring that students are transported safely across York County on their buses for the better part of two decades.
Their community impact will also be felt for future decades as they recently left an indelible mark on local healthcare with their $750,000 contribution to the WellSpan York Cancer Center Capital Campaign to sponsor the Wellness Center.
“We not only made a life here, but an American dream career here, so for me it is the connection to the community and an opportunity to give back,” said John Polli, who operates Reliance Student Transportation with his wife Maria.
“WellSpan does a great service here and we just wanted to be a part of their vision to advance local cancer care.”
The top donor family was just one of the highlights for a capital campaign that concluded on March 31 – raising $5,700,000 – with more than 1,100 gifts from individuals and families as well as businesses and community organizations. More than 300 WellSpan team members also generously supported the campaign.
Located in the Apple Hill Medical Center, the newly renovated WellSpan York Cancer Center, which is scheduled to open on July 19, offers a full spectrum of state-of-the-art cancer treatment and supportive services under one roof.
“I feel for our cancer patients it will provide a feeling of confidence,” said Dr. Greg Fortier, a radiation oncologist who has served many roles with WellSpan over the past 35 years including Division Chief of Radiation Oncology.
Last year, Fortier introduced the vision of the new cancer center project to John and Maria, and said their initial reaction was “How can we help make it happen?”
“Greg is a personal friend and when he talked to us about this project, he had so much passion that I am not even sure there are words to describe it,” John said.
“It really struck home for us and we wanted to make a statement.”
Establishing new roots, routes in York
While Maria Polli grew up in York, John took the long way to the area as well as the school bus business.
Polli, who was raised in Valley Forge, graduated from Penn State in 1986 with an accounting degree and spent four years with former accounting giant Arthur Andersen before relocating and joining York Waste Disposal in 1990.
One of Polli’s roles for the waste company was purchases and acquisitions, and in 1997 he leveraged that experience while acquiring a business of his own in Reliance Motor Coach Company, which he ran until 2006 when he sold it to Durham School Services.
Polli stayed on with Durham in a senior leadership capacity for five years before retiring, but his passion for getting kids to school didn’t stop there.
In 2015, he recognized an emergent need from several school districts and decided to launch Reliance Student Transportation. His family’s reputation in the local transportation business earned several multi-year contracts from school districts across York County and eventually grew the footprint to nearly 300 bus routes.
The bus doesn’t stop there for Polli, who has been very active in the York County community, and in 2015 along with Maria, created a family fund at the York County Community Foundation that provides financial help to fulfill the needs of schoolchildren.
Not long after, John and Maria purchased a farm and renovated a red rancher on the grounds which now serves dying people and their families as the Pappus House. That compassionate end-of-life care is now being expanded into a capital project that can support more people at a bigger facility.
Special connection to special care
During his two busing acquisitions, John Polli has always leaned toward flying under the radar as even his buses didn’t bear the family name.
Their decision to sponsor the Wellness Center followed his family’s history of humility.
The intention more so lies in the donor plaque which reads, “In support of the mental, emotional and spiritual health of all patients, families, and staff at the WellSpan York Cancer Center.”
The Wellness Center will offer holistic treatments including massage, meditation, spiritual care, palliative care and bra/wig fittings.
According to Matthew Lane, executive director of the WellSpan York Health Foundation, John and Maria were taken aback by the concept of the Wellness Center when they toured the cancer center during the construction phase in October.
Two days later, John and Maria committed to supporting the project.
“We care about people and that they live a healthy life. It moved me personally and it was an easy decision,” John said.
“Just getting a bra fitted for someone who has had a mastectomy can make a difference.”
While cancer hasn’t directly affected them, Maria has undergone multiple kidney transplants and a pancreas transplant, often traveling more than 40 minutes for treatments.
“We have lived part of that lifestyle as a family so maybe that has driven us in the background,” John said. “I will feel so honored every day that someone is getting the help they need closer to home at the Wellness Center.”
Added Maria, “We just want to be able to help the community and find something that we can be passionate about. We can see the results of this and see how it will help people.”
