The annual St. Jude Thanks and Giving® campaign saw compassionate shoppers, corporate partners, celebrities and influencers come together to make the holiday season a time of giving thanks, donating more than $122 million to support the lifesaving mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®: Finding cures. Saving children.®
Throughout November and December, consumers rallied for a great cause, donating at more than 60 corporate partners representing a cross-section in retail, restaurant, travel, hospitality, media and more. In addition to corporate partners, the 2019 campaign saw support from celebrities spanning actors, content creators, professional gamers, athletes, chefs, musicians and more lending their time and talents to champion St. Jude during this critical fundraising period.
Jennifer Aniston, Sofia Vergara, Michael Strahan, Luis Fonsi, Brad Paisley and Tony Thomas joined Marlo Thomas in a series of television and digital spots as well as a movie trailer. Additional St. Jude celebrity friends Jackie Aina, Shalom Blac, Adrienne Calvo, Mike Conley, Kirk Franklin, Chip and Joanna Gaines, MatPat and Stephanie Patrick of The Game Theorists, JoAnna Garcia, GoodGameBro, Elizabeth Gutierrez, Armie Hammer and Elizabeth Chambers Hammer, Rhett and Link, Rio Roma, Colton Underwood and Rachel Zoe shared their support in a variety of ways by appearing in online videos, livestream events, social media activations and live appearances calling on their fans to join them in helping raise funds and awareness for the hospital’s lifesaving work.
“Seeing our national partners, celebrity friends, and America’s shoppers come together once again this year in support of the St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign fills our hearts with gratitude,” said Marlo Thomas, National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “It is in large part thanks to this support that we have been able to keep my father’s founding promise that no family ever pays St. Jude for anything – not for treatment, travel, housing or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. The donations received ensure that our doctors and researchers can continue their lifesaving work until the day when no child ever dies from cancer.”
Marlo Thomas with St Jude patients Rodney and Jazel
Best Buy celebrated several milestones during St. Jude Thanks and Giving, including a record-breaking fundraising year with more than $22 million raised, pushing the company’s total fundraising to over $100 million raised for the kids of St. Jude. Best Buy’s fundraising is bolstered through its purpose-driven engagement of its employees, who advocated for the mission of St. Jude in stores across the country and contributed nearly $500,000 through employee giving.
“We continue to be amazed by the incredible impact St. Jude has on children and their families, and we’re honored to play a role in their lifesaving work,” said Ray Sliva, president of retail at Best Buy. “We’re so grateful for the extraordinary generosity of our customers and employees, not only this year but for the past seven years, and we look forward to continuing to partner with and support St. Jude and their mission.”
In addition to Best Buy, returning partners Domino’s, HomeGoods, LOFT, KAY® Jewelers, Chili’s Grill & Bar, AutoZone, New York & Company, Kmart and many more, once again provided their employees and loyal shoppers the opportunity to support St. Jude through in-store and e-commerce initiatives, specialty merchandise and social media engagement.
Recognizing the importance of reaching diverse, new audiences, St. Jude added several innovative activations to the campaign. The organization enlisted the support of Google and popular YouTube content creators The Game Theorists (MatPat and Stephanie Patrick) to host a nine-hour livestream on Giving Tuesday that brought together some of the platform’s top creators and raised more than $1.3 million for St. Jude. Additionally, for the first time ever, St. Jude partnered with Facebook and Oculus for the VR for Good Initiative, which brought St. Jude patients and their stories to life in a “Hall of Heroes” virtual reality experience and was created by Omnicom Group’s BBDO and narrated by actor Patrick Warburton.
The St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign benefitted from week-long exposure on NBC’s TODAY show, which featured several in-depth stories highlighting St. Jude patients and the inspirational St. Jude moments that happen each and every day at St. Jude. National theatre partners including Regal, Cinemark, AMC, Marcus Theatres, Malco and many others, showed a star-studded St. Jude Thanks and Giving movie trailer throughout the holiday season.
“During St. Jude Thanks and Giving our generous partners are a uniting force for creating positive change through our shared purpose of saving the lives of precious children,” said Richard Shadyac Jr., President and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “The incredible efforts of our partners and supporters during the holiday season and throughout the year help us continue to push the boundaries of what philanthropy in the 21st century looks like and make it possible for St. Jude to continue to focus on what matters most – making the world a better place by saving children regardless of their financial situation.”
About St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Its purpose is clear: Finding cures. Saving children.® It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80% since the hospital opened in 1962. St. Jude won't stop until no child dies from cancer. St. Jude shares the discoveries it makes, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Because of generous donors, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food, so they can focus on helping their child live. Visit St. Jude Inspire to discover powerful St. Jude stories of hope, strength, love and kindness. Join the St. Jude mission by visiting stjude.org, liking St. Jude on Facebook, following St. Jude on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok, and subscribing to its YouTube channel.
Media Contacts:
Sarah Clark
ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
sarah.clark@stjude.org
(901) 229-8726
Kurt Rossler
ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Kurt.Rossler@stjude.org
(901) 578-6752