Chef Susan Feniger (center) prepares food for guests at the St. Jude Evening of Hope in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Celebrity chefs and supporters of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital came together at the St. Jude Evening of Hope at the Urban Garden in Charlotte, North Carolina, on March 12.
The gala raised more than $600,000, and has now raised more than $1.6 million in its three-year history.
Attended by 300 guests, the St. Jude Evening of Hope featured music by Jessica Borgnis & Friends, as well as live and silent auctions, where one of the standout items was a trip to Tuscany, Italy. Tasting stations highlighted food by renowned chefs Jet Tila, Susan Feniger and Chris Ivens-Brown. Chirstine Sperow, a news anchor from WBTV Channel 3, served as the gala’s emcee.
St. Jude parents Kathy and Rich started the St. Jude Evening of Hope three years ago, and served as chairs for this year’s event along with Angela Arno and Tom Desmond. Sponsors included TradeKing, Bank of America, Foodbuy, Broadridge, Credit Suisse, Scivantage, Latham & Watkins LLP, Morgan Stanley and PPD.
Events like the St. Jude Evening of Hope help ensure that no family ever receives a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food — because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent since it opened more than 50 years ago.