I recently attended the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - Celebration of Hope Weekend (COHW) in Memphis, Tennessee. I had never gone before, and really didn't know what to expect, but I am so grateful that I got the opportunity. First of all this is an annual event hosted by St. Jude, for radio/media outlets across the nation. The goal is 2-fold -to make DJ's around the country aware of the tremendous work they do, and  help them raise money to continue saving precious lives through cancer research. Together WE WILL FIND A CURE.

I learned a lot, and had some major ugly cry moments. On so many levels, this was truly a monumental experiences for me. The whole weekend was catered to Urban Radio stations across the country. Each station, sent at least two people to the event. So you can imagine how many people were there.

To be completely honest, I wasn't looking forward to taking a tour of St. Jude. I was uneasy about what I would see, and didn't want to have sad encounters with precious little children I had no power to help. As a parent myself, I know that having a sick child is stressful. All you want, is for your baby to get better. Childhood cancer is a devastating reality for hundreds of thousands of parents around the globe. My heart goes out to all of them, and my sincerest prayers are that we can find a cure for their children.

This is what St. Jude is all about. Research. Developing new or improved medicines. Finding a cure for Cancer or Sickle Cell and countless other terminal and life threatening diseases. Thank God for the prayers of actor, and St. Jude founder, Danny Thomas. More than 70-years ago, he was having a tough time making a go with his acting career in Hollywood. He and his wife were struggling to make ends meet. They had a baby on the way, and no idea how they would pay for hospital bills. A devout Catholic, Thomas prayed to St. Jude Thaddeus (Patron Saint of hopeless, impossible and difficult causes.) He asked, “help me find my way in life, and I will build you a shrine.”

His prayers were answered almost immediately, his career not only started to look-up, it took off! He never forgot his pledge to St. Jude, and started raising money to bring his to fruition. Thomas wanted to build a hospital and research center, devoted to curing catastrophic diseases in children. In 1962, named after his guardian Patron saint,       St. Jude Children's Research Hospital opened it's doors at 262 Danny Thomas Place in Memphis, TN. Since that day doctors and scientist at tis phenomenal facility, have save thousands of lives. Thanks the medicines and treatments they've developed over the years, childhood cancer survival has gone from 20% in the 60's, to 80% today.

St. Jude specializes in caring for children with a wide variety of cancers, blood disorders and other rare diseases. This hospital is absolutely A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! St. Jude treats children ages 18 and under (in some cases ages 25 and under.) For specific diseases, see Treatment Programs for more details.

If a child is diagnosed with cancer or life threatening disease. St. Jude is where you want them to me. There are some requirements to become eligible for treatment at this special hospital. Some of the main factors are as follows - a child must be diagnosed with a disease they treat, all their doctor has to do is give them a referral, and a child must be within the patient age limit. If you or someone you know is seeking treatment, get all the details at How To Get Your Child Admitted To St. Jude. The work they do is mind blowing. The research and care they offer is the very best in the world, and everything is FREE OF CHARGE.

st. jude - nose for luck
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St. Jude treats specific diseases in children ages 18 and under and, in some cases, 25 and under (see Treatment Programs for more details). There are some requirements to become eligible for treatment at St. Jude. Some of the main factors are as follows: a child must be diagnosed with a disease they treat, have a referral from their doctor, and be within the patient age limit. If you or someone you know is seeking treatment, get all the details at How To Get Your Child Admitted To St. Jude.

There is simply no hospital on earth like St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and I know that for a fact. I toured the hospital and research center. There's an indoor playground, children's art, toys, food court, and much more. It's also the first hospital I've ever been to that doesn't look or smell like one! Everyone who works at this hospital is special from the oncologists, specialists, nurses, therapists, down to the hundreds of people who handle daily operations.

As far as I'm concerned, they're all living saints. These people really and truly love what they do. There's an entire research center and college campus on site that is devoted solely to finding a cure for every form of cancer and catastrophic disease. I talked to several people who work there, and every one of them is so nice. I could tell they love the hospital, and believe in the difference it's making for sick children around the world. To my surprise, many of them were actually former patients!

It takes a lot of money to run this amazing hospital: $2.6 million a day! Believe it or not, most of that money comes from donations and individual contributions. That's right! I was already and a Partner In Hope before going to Memphis, and after seeing what I've seen, I'm going to up my monthly donation. I am proud to be a part of this unbelievable hospital and staff. Join me, and become a monthly donor TODAY! I promise it will be the best $20, $30, $40 or more you've ever spent.

Donor Services: (800) 822-6344
Hospital Main Line: (866) 278-5833
TTY: (901) 595-1040
Physician / Patient Referral Office: (888) 226-4343
Address: 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105

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