As he turns 50, Chip Gaines sends $50,000 birthday gift to St. Jude
This dedicated donor embraces the mission of the holiday and St. Jude
December 05, 2024 • 3 min
For Chip Gaines, co-founder of the Magnolia lifestyle brand and “Fixer Upper” star with a self-proclaimed childlike wonder of the world, turning 50 felt disconcertedly grown up.
So, he did something that brought him joy, marking his milestone birthday on November 15 with a $50,000 gift to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Gaines announced the gift on social media, along with an invitation to his friends and fans to donate, too.
In 2017, Chip and Joanna Gaines renovated the dining room at Target House, a long-term housing facility where patients receiving treatment and their families stay for free.
On Instagram, Gaines wrote, “Halfway to one hundred and no looking back. As I get older, more and more my heart leans toward what’s really important in life and asking myself the question, ‘What good can I do today?'”
He wrote that he only had one wish, and it was for the kids and families at St. Jude: “I decided yesterday that for my 50th I’d like to do some good with a $50,000 donation and today I’m wondering how much more meaningful that number could get if we all jumped in and gave what we could.”
For Gaines and his wife, Joanna, the birthday donation is the latest chapter in their long history of giving back to St. Jude. The couple visited the children’s research hospital in Memphis for the first time in 2017 to unveil their renovation of the dining room at Target House, a long-term housing facility where patients receiving treatment and their families stay for free. They also brought a check made out to St. Jude for $230,000 raised via their fans as part of Chip’s ‘Operation Haircut’, in which he shaved his head to benefit St. Jude kids.
At the event, the Gaines met young patients and their families and heard their stories, many told in tears and punctuated with hugs. “It changed us forever,” Chip Gaines said.
Chip and Joanna Gaines have been steadfast supporters of St. Jude since 2017, most recently becoming official St. Jude ambassadors and participating in the annual St. Jude Thanks and Giving®.
Since that moment, the Gaineses have remained unwavering supporters, becoming official ambassadors for St. Jude. Their ongoing partnership reflects a shared commitment between St. Jude and the Magnolia founders to the transformative power of hope, healing and giving back.
“Jo and I are kind of all-inners,” Chip said. “When we went to St. Jude in Memphis, Tennessee, we came back, and we were like, ‘For the rest of our lives, we’re going to do whatever we can to support that beautiful organization.’”
Two years after that first visit to St. Jude, in 2019, their “Chip-in Challenge” on social media raised another $998,000 with the help of their fans and celebrities including Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Lopez and Florida Georgia Line.
The Gaineses visited St. Jude again that year to bring another over-sized check and host a garden party to unveil a garden-themed playhouse they designed for Target House. As parents of five children, they know how important it is that families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food — so they can focus on helping their child live.
“When you watch your child sick, even if it’s just a skinned knee, as a parent your heart goes out,” Joanna Gaines said. “So, I can only imagine — really, I can’t imagine — what these parents are going through.” She is grateful for every opportunity to hug those parents and tell them, “We’re with you.”
“There is something about hearing the stories of these children and their families, seeing the hope in their eyes,” she added. “I truly believe that St. Jude does that for these families. They give them hope. They give them strength.”
Altogether, the Gaineses, their friends and fans have donated more than $3 million to St. Jude.
