"No child should die in the dawn of life." That was Danny Thomas' dream when St. Jude Children's Research Hospital opened its doors on February 4, 1962.
I'm not smart enough to be a doctor or a researcher, so I help in the only way that I can - fundraising.
St. Jude's groundbreaking research has helped push the survival rate for childhood cancer from less than 20% in 1962 to more than 80% today. But as I heard a former patient's mother say, "when your daughter is in the 20% it isn't good enough yet." And their web site explains why fundraising is so important - "Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food - because all a family should worry about is helping their child live."
Why a $51,000 goal? I was honored to speak to 2,000 Heroes during the Memphis Marathon Weekend this past December. During that speech, I challenged each of them to raise their goal by $1,000 in 2020. Last year my goal was $50,000.....this year.....$51,000.
