Emily's pledge

Touches of Tri Delta Fraternity can be seen across the campus of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. 

From funding the hospital’s Teen Room to naming a patient care floor in the Chili’s Care Center to naming the on-campus patient residence, the premier women’s organization has left its mark of passionate service on St. Jude since choosing the hospital as its national philanthropic partner in 1999.

For St. Jude patient Emily, these touches of Tri Delta are touches of home. When the Louisiana teenager was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia in 2016, she was sent to St. Jude, where she saw symbols of Tri Delta all around her. And during her first cycle of chemotherapy, she and her family lived in the on-campus patient residence, Tri Delta Place. 

“From that moment forward, everything about Tri Delta became home,” Emily said.

During the week of recruitment to Greek life in college this fall, Emily was open to learning about other sororities. But her choice soon became clear:  Emily pledged Tri Delta.

“Every time I walked into the Tri Delta lodge (at college), I began to cry because I was at home again. From the place I grew up, to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and now to this chapter of Tri Delta, I have found home again.” 

Tri Delta collegiate and alumnae members continuously raise funds and awareness for St. Jude through letter-writing campaigns, campus and community events, the St. Jude Walk/Run to End Childhood Cancer and the St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend. In 2014, Tri Delta committed to raising $60 million for St. Jude in 10 years — the largest single commitment by a St. Jude partner — and received recognition with the naming of Tri Delta Place.

Tri Delta just announced that it has reached the halfway mark in that commitment, raising $30 million for St. Jude just four years into its 10-year campaign. In reaching the halfway point, Tri Delta has raised approximately $57.4 million for St. Jude since 1999.

For Emily, joining Tri Delta has only added more meaning to her St. Jude journey.