This year, we’re celebrating 16 years of partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® and are proud to have participated once again in their Thanks and Giving campaign. We work every day to create a sense of home in people’s lives, and this mission guides our giving strategy. St. Jude is committed to ensuring that no family will receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.
This year, we raised $5 million for St. Jude during the Thanks and Giving campaign, nearly 40% more than last year and significantly exceeding our goal. This year’s campaign included 593,000 donations from our customers at time of purchase, special St. Jude-designated product sales where a portion of the sale was donated, employee donations, and corporate donations. We’re proud to have raised more than $55 million during our 16-year partnership. These funds have been used to support vital research and treatment to help increase the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent since the hospital opened over 50 years ago.
“Over the past 16 years, our annual campaign benefiting the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital has become a company tradition that we are deeply proud of. In a year that has brought hardship to so many, we are humbled by the generosity of our customers and our associates in supporting an organization that is changing the lives of children and their families across the country.”
Laura Alber, President and CEO of Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
The St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign, created in 2004 by Marlo Thomas and her siblings Terre and Tony, children of St. Jude founder Danny Thomas, asks people to “give thanks for the healthy kids in your life, and give to those who are not” in order to help St. Jude continue its lifesaving mission.
“The kindness and compassion that our partners share year after year during the St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign is truly invaluable,” said Marlo Thomas, national outreach director for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “This holiday season was like no other, but one thing remained certain, the outpouring of generosity from our St. Jude family. Our partners, their employees and customers continue to have big hearts for the children of St. Jude and their support helps ensure our doctors and researchers will continue their tireless work to end childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.”