PHOENIX (AZFamily and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital) – The St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway benefitting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has come to Phoenix for the first time, and tickets sold out in one day! Twenty-eight hours, to be exact. It’s the second-fastest sellout in the 30-plus-year history of the campaign.
How St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital came to be
It wasn’t that long ago that a cancer diagnosis was one step short of a death sentence for children. That began to change the day entertainer Danny Thomas made a vow to a saint in return for guidance.
Like many, Thomas struggled early in his career. He turned to St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless causes.
“Help me find my way in life, and I will build you a shrine,” he vowed.
Thomas did not know at the time what that shrine would look like or the incalculable impact it would have in the decades to come.
Thomas’s career took off and he became known the world over. But he never forgot his promise.
In 1955, Thomas and a group of business leaders in Memphis landed “the idea of creating a unique research hospital devoted to curing catastrophic diseases in children.” It would work on behalf of all children, creating cutting-edge treatments and using them regardless of a family’s ability to pay.
“No child should die in the dawn of life,” Thomas said.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was born. The facility opened in Memphis in 1962. There was nothing like it anywhere in the world. There still isn’t.
And its work is nothing short of miraculous. When St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital opened, the survival rate for childhood cancer was a disheartening 20%. Today, it’s up to 80%, and St. Jude teams are working harder than ever. The goal is to end childhood cancer deaths, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is determined to get there.
St. Jude, the patron saint of hopeless causes, has become a beacon of hope for sick children and their families. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital offers hope to families when they need it most, when it seems most elusive.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is not just for childhood cancers. It treats other catastrophic diseases including blood disorders, immune disorders, infectious diseases, neurological disorders, and genetic predisposition syndromes.
Kids all over the world are alive today because of the critical work of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. And more will follow.
St. Jude and the World Health Organization just launched a team initiative called the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines, which sends lifesaving medications to low- and middle-income countries.
“For too long, children with cancer have lacked access to life-saving medicines,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “This unique partnership between WHO and St. Jude is working to provide quality-assured cancer medicines to pediatric hospitals in low- and middle-income countries. WHO is proud to be part of this joint initiative with St. Jude, bringing health and hope to children around the world.”
“A child’s chances of surviving cancer are largely determined by where they are born, making this one of the starkest disparities in global healthcare,” said James R. Downing, MD, president and CEO of St. Jude. “St. Jude was founded on Danny Thomas’ dream that no child should die in the dawn of life. By developing this platform, we believe this dream can someday be achieved for children stricken by cancer, irrespective of where they live.”
The mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is twofold.
Find cures. Save children.
Treatment is just part of that mission. Research, right there in the hospital’s name, is the other half. St. Jude openly shares its groundbreaking research with doctors and hospitals all over the world.
There are so many things that make St. Jude unique, but one of the most significant is that a child’s treatment there will not cost the family a cent. There’s no bill from St. Jude. Not for treatment. Not for travel. Not for housing or food. St. Jude focuses on helping children live and firmly believes their families should be able to do the same.
St. Jude builds an army for kids fighting for their lives. That army includes you, which is where Phoenix’s inaugural St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway comes in.
Donations are what make St. Jude’s life-saving work possible. They fund the research. They fund the treatment and care. They make St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital the champion it is for children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
“Most of the funding for St. Jude comes from people like me and you, making donations,” St. Jude advisor Julie Tritschler told “Good Morning Arizona” anchor Tess Rafols.
Fundraising programs like the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway also make it possible for the doctors and researchers at St. Jude to continue their life-saving work.
About the Dream Home
Woodside Homes broke ground on the Dream Home in October 2024. They’re building it in Ironwood Villages at North Creek in Queen Creek. With an estimated value of $510,000, it’s truly spectacular, definitely worthy of the Dream Home title.
- 3bd | 2.5 ba | approx. 1,800 sqft
- Open-concept first floor, perfect for entertaining and cooking
- Light and bright interior selections with warm hues for a cozy feel
- Durable luxury vinyl planks on the first floor with chic and comfy carpet on the stairs and second floor
- Kitchen includes durable Quartz kitchen countertops with delicate veining, complimenting the handmade-looking backsplash, and Energy Star Bosch stainless-steel appliances
- Fun, decorative tile in the powder room and laundry room
You can see the Dream Home for yourself when open house tours start in April.
There are other prizes, too.
- Stoll 7′ Custom Outdoor Kitchen Island with 36″ Estate Gas Grill, courtesy of Gilbert Fireplaces & BBQs
- $5,000 gas and grocery gift card
- $5,000 VISA gift card, courtesy of Arizona’s Family
- Dine and Drive package, including a $500 Salad and Go gift card and a $2,000 gas gift card, courtesy of Salad and Go
Your $100 ticket makes you eligible for all of the prizes. The four “milestone” prizes above, as well as the house, will be given away on May 7. If you win one of the milestone prizes, you’re still eligible for the house.
“All tickets have an equal chance to win the house,” states the giveaway page on StJude.org. (Click here for Terms & Conditions.)
“It’s a great opportunity to not only give back to the mission of St. Jude but also to potentially win something for yourself in the process,” Julie said.
The St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway will air live during “Good Morning Arizona” on Arizona’s Family on May 7.
Saving kids’ lives is a mission everybody can get behind. There is no better cause. And St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and ALSAC have built and maintained stellar reputations as charitable organizations.
“I think [Danny Thomas] would be absolutely blown away by the amount of support that we get, by the amount of people who want to show up and support the mission and the kids at St. Jude,” Julie said. “From the very first day that the hospital opened, it’s been all about the kids.”
Countless kids (and their families) who owe or will owe their lives to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
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