St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital researches and treats pediatric catastrophic diseases, primarily childhood cancer. St. Jude covers all costs not paid by insurance. Research findings are shared worldwide.

How do you help people in my community?

As a research institution, St. Jude has a unique mission to generate the knowledge that will lead to cures and treatments for childhood cancers and other catastrophic diseases, helping to save the lives of children around the world stricken with these deadly diseases. The research and care pioneered by St. Jude is freely shared with doctors all over the world so that children in communities everywhere will have access to our groundbreaking research and lifesaving treatments. In that way, a donation to St. Jude benefits children in communities across the country and around the world.

St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states and around the world. Your donation supports St. Jude’s lifesaving care and breakthrough scientific research and ensures that no child is ever denied treatment because of the family’s inability to pay. St. Jude also provides transportation costs and local living expenses during treatment for the patient and one family member, and assists with meal costs while the family is in Memphis.

Why do you need my support?

Despite extraordinary advances in diagnosis and treatment, cancer kills more children in the United States than any other disease. Although cure rates for the most common forms of childhood cancer continue to rise, many forms of childhood cancer are exceedingly rare, and families often don’t know where to turn for information or help. St. Jude is a place where many doctors send some of their sickest patients and toughest cases. And no family ever pays St. Jude for medical treatment.

The hospital’s daily operating costs are $1.6  million, which are primarily covered by public contributions. More than 5 million people make contributions to St. Jude each year, yet the average individual donation is only $30. Your donation truly makes a difference and supports the cutting-edge research that happens every day at St. Jude:

• St. Jude is spearheading the emerging field of pharmacogenomics, which can predict how a patient will respond to medications by identifying variations in specific genes that contribute to the patient’s response to certain drugs.
  
• St. Jude is the only pediatric research center with an on-site Good Manufacturing Practices facility to research and then produce highly specialized medicines and vaccines that pharmaceutical companies do not produce.
  
• St. Jude’s Hartwell Center for Bioinformatics and Biotechnology integrates, in a single setting, more state-of-the-art research technologies in computing and molecular science for the investigation of catastrophic diseases than any other pediatric center in the world.
  
• The St. Jude After Completion of Therapy (ACT) program is the largest long-term, follow-up clinic for pediatric cancer patients in the United States. The clinic's accomplishments are now an integral part of national guidelines for screening and managing the late effects of survivors of pediatric cancer.
  
• A study by St. Jude researchers showed for the first time that childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) can be successfully treated using a carefully personalized chemotherapy regimen without cranial radiation.

How can I be sure that you will use my money wisely and won't waste it?

We take pride in being good stewards of the donations received from our various events and programs, and we strive to find ways to raise money at a lower cost so we can increase the percentage of every donation going to the hospital. During the past five years, 81 cents of every dollar received has supported the research and treatment at St. Jude. For a copy of our annual report and combined financial statement, please send a request to annualreport@stjude.org.

Can I Volunteer? How?

There are a variety of volunteer-based fundraising opportunities for St. Jude. Through our Special Events for St. Jude program, participants take part in fun and meaningful activities benefiting St. Jude. Events can range from bake sales and car washes to bike rides and team walks. Our Volunteer Support Representatives can offer support and guidance on hosting a volunteer event for St. Jude. Give them a call at 1-800-457-2444 Monday through Friday. Every person who participates in Special Events for St. Jude helps fund the lifesaving research and treatment at St. Jude.