Donato Tramuto reflects on tragedies and philanthropy at Camp Sunshine gala
The Claussen family, whose youngest son, Tyler, second from left, lost some of his hearing as a result of chemotherapy, views Donato Tramuto as an inspiration and a role model. (Rory Sweeting/Staff Writer)
Ahead of a gala at Camp Sunshine in Casco celebrating his 70th birthday and the 25th anniversary of the TramutoPorter Foundation, Ogunquit philanthropist Donato Tramuto reflected on the tragedies in his life and the work his foundation has done to improve the lives of vulnerable people in Maine and beyond.
The venue, a Casco-based summer camp for children with life-threatening illnesses, is one that carries a lot of meaning for Tramuto.
Tramuto recalled suggesting to Joanne Bean, CEO of Camp Sunshine and a member of the TramutoPorter foundation’s board, that the camp hold a session for the families of children who had lost their hearing, as Tramuto had when he was 8 years old. The first such session was held in 2024. Tramuto said the program, now in its third year, would be endowed in perpetuity by his foundation.
Bean said the foundation is grateful for the generosity of the TramutoPorter Foundation, and to be able to assure growing forward that they would be able to hold a hearing loss session. The TramutoPorter Foundation’s session serves children with life-threatening illnesses who experience hearing loss as a reaction to treatments, rather than focusing on children who were born deaf. Bean also praised members of the TramutoPorter Foundation’s board for volunteering at the camp during the week-long session.
Eric and Amanda Claussen, who recently spent a week at Camp Sunshine with their family, talked about the impact the program had on their youngest son, Tyler, who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at 23 months and experienced hearing loss as a side effect of chemotherapy. Eric and Amanda said the week at Camp Sunshine was a lovely opportunity to step away from the hardships of Tyler’s cancer journey, and to meet families in the same situation. The Claussens praised Tramuto as an inspiration for children experiencing hearing loss.
Tyler, one of two Camp Sunshine campers to present Tramuto with a pair of flags flown over the United States Capitol in honor of Tramuto and his twin brother, Daniel, said Tramuto inspired him to “never ever give up.”
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Philanthropist Donato Tramuto reflected on the work of his foundation ahead of a gala marking its 25th anniversary. (Courtesy of TramutoPorter Foundation)
For his 70th birthday, rather than a fancy dining hall, Tramuto wanted to celebrate at a program that meant a lot to him. The July 30 gala saw more than 200 attendees, including 25 Camp Sunshine attendees and their families.
The foundation, he recalled, was born from the tragedy of 9/11. Tramuto and his partner, Jeff Porter, were hosting friends, Ron Gamboa and Dan Brandhorst, as well as the latter’s 3-year-old son, David, at their home in Ogunquit over the weekend of Sept. 8. Tramuto was due to fly to Los Angeles with Gamboa and Brandhorst on United Flight 175, but a toothache forced him to take an earlier flight. The following day, the Gamboa-Brandhorst family were among the 60 civilians killed when their plane was crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
Tramuto, who had encouraged Gamboa and Brandhorst to visit him that weekend, said he often thinks that, had he not persuaded them to come to Maine, they would not have been traveling that week.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, Tramuto said he was in deep pain, feeling guilty. Later that year, he and Porter took a trip to Italy, where they decided to convert their pain into something good.
The TramutoPorter Foundation was established in fall 2001, and awarded its first college scholarship in May 2002. Tramuto said the scholarship is in memory of young David Brandhorst.
In 2006, the TramutoPorter Foundation started to distribute grants to foundations focused on human rights and health equity, honoring both Gamboa and Brandhorst, as well as Tramuto’s background in healthcare. In 2011, the foundation made its first significant partnership with the Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center, and established an educational endowment with the Boston University School of Public Health.
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The TramutoPorter Foundation supports the Kennedy Human Rights Center’s Human Rights Award, which last year honored Gov. Janet Mills, among others, for a noteworthy exchange with President Donald Trump at the White House. Tramuto said his foundation works with the Kennedy Human Rights Center to identify award recipients, who have come from dozens of countries over the years.
Mills, who was awarded at the gala with the 2026 Compassionate Leadership of the Year Award for her work in expanding access to healthcare, praised the TramutoPorter Foundation’s Health eVillages program, which supports healthcare in villages across 11 developing countries. She also recognized Donato Tramuto’s lifetime of healthcare advocacy and work to broaden access around the world, encouraging attendees to follow his philosophy of “empathy plus action”. After speaking, Mills was awarded by Tramuto and Porter with a framed portrait of Robert F. Kennedy, taken by photographer Harry Benson.
Janet Mills received a framed portrait of Robert F. Kennedy from the TramutoPorter Foundation for her humanitarian work as governor. (Courtesy of TramutoPorter Foundation)
As of 2026, the TramutoPorter Foundation has three significant “pillars,” said Tramuto. The pillars include five educational endowments, three human rights endowments, and two endowments focused on hearing equity. The foundation has given more than 100 grants over the past 25 years, and has given out two $20,000 scholarships to students in Bangor and Wells since 2002.
Tramuto said his work was shaped by the philosophy of “compassionate leadership,” the subject of his 2022 book “The Double Bottom Line: How Compassionate Leaders Captivate Hearts and Deliver Results.” He defined compassionate leadership as empathy in action, saying it was no longer good enough just to say “I feel your pain,” and stressing the importance of working to alleviate others’ pain.
Tramuto recalled a visit to Kenya in 2011, where he witnessed a mother delivering a baby on a dirt floor. This led him to building a hospital to provide beds to mothers giving birth, which has reduced the infant mortality rate in the region from 100 deaths per 1,000 live births to 15.
Every year on Sept. 11, the TramutoPorter Foundation organizes a compassionate leadership program that gathers dozens of educators from colleges where the foundation has endowments. Of those attendees, the TramutoPorter Foundation selects one “educator of the year,” who will travel to Italy to participate in the foundation’s Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Program. TramutoPorter Foundation Educational Director Natalie Alcantara said this year’s program, which will take place at Lasell University in Massachusetts, would be themed around “defiant hope.”
Tramuto brought up the idea of defiant hope in his speech at the gala. Citing both his own tragedies and the life of Eleanor Roosevelt, he said that, “hope is not passive, hope is not delicate, hope is an act of defiance, a refusal to accept that darkness gets the final word.”
Prior to the gala, Tramuto also reflected on his foundation’s philosophy of compassion, recalling the many tragedies he had endured over his 70 years. Tramuto suffered immense bullying as a child for being partially deaf, and has lost multiple siblings and in-laws.
“I could have taken the path to be bitter or taken the path to be angry, (but) I took a different path,” said Tramuto. “I found in my own character the understanding that it makes no difference how many titles you have in your life … what makes the difference is how you define your character.”
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Tagged: philanthropy
Rory, an experienced reporter from western Massachusetts, joined the Maine Trust for Local News in October 2024. He is a community reporter for Windham, Raymond, Casco, Bridgton, Naples, Standish, Gray,. More by Rory Sweeting
