I can’t believe it has been over a year since I last reported on my involvement with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. It was very six degrees of separation: I met and interviewed Marlo Thomas at an event. We stayed in touch via Twitter. When the CEO of the company I was working for at the time expressed interest in running a social good campaign for St. Jude, I instantly reached out to her and then launched one of the most satisfying marketing campaigns of my career.
As a participant of the St. Jude Annual Thanks and Giving campaign, we raised and donated a significant amount of money to help the children of St. Jude and our social media campaign helped make some noise for the company I was working for, too. But it didn’t stop there, as a partner of the hospital, I was invited to tour the hospital and meet the children who were living and being treated there. I heard from mothers of children who survived the gloomiest periods of their lives, from children and teenagers who were in remission and were saved by the team at St. Jude, from young adults who went into the hospital as children and were now successful and have children of their own. I met a a beautiful young man who had lost his right arm during his battle with cancer as a baby and was as resilient as ever. I left inspired and full of gratitude for playing a small role in the hospital’s work, knowing there was so much more to be done.
I have been wondering ever since that experience how to continue my work with St. Jude, particularly since I am no longer with the company I was working for, until last week. I was invited to an exclusive St. Jude event in midtown and reconnected with members of the PR team and a few of the patients who spoke to me about the hospital and their conditions in earnest.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign. This unique national campaign launches Thanksgiving week and continues through the end of the year. Funds raised during the campaign support the lifesaving work being done at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which provides hope for children fighting cancer and other deadly diseases and where no family ever pays St. Jude for anything. Everyone can help raise funds that are vital to the research and treatment taking place at St. Jude by visiting participating partners during November and December or stjude.org.
In 2004, award-winning actress and St. Jude National Outreach Director Marlo Thomas and her siblings, Terre Thomas and Tony Thomas, the children of hospital founder Danny Thomas, created the St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign to build awareness and raise funds for St. Jude during a season that exemplifies the spirit of giving thanks for so many. What began as a holiday-focused fundraising effort has grown into an annual tradition that families look forward to each year. The St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign is an unprecedented union of celebrities, media, retail and corporate partners that asks consumers to donate and join St. Jude in finding cures and saving children.
I’ll be reporting more on this campaign and more, including the special line of retail items that partners have created to raise money for these special children. They have special products by Sabrina Soto, Olivia Holt and Jennette McCurdy and products that range from food to ornaments to fashion for all ages. The campaign is a terrific example of social good at its finest. Stay tuned.
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