Stanford St. Jude Championship
A PROMISE KEPT
More than a half-century ago, Danny Thomas was living in Detroit — a struggling entertainer torn between dedication to his craft and responsibility to his wife and newborn. With $7 in his pocket and a tough choice to make, he did what he’d watched his mother do in times of trial – he prayed. The next morning, he won an acting job that gave him just enough money to pay a hefty hospital bill that had loomed over his family like a dark cloud.
Later, at another crossroads, he went to a church and knelt before a statue of the patron saint of hopeless causes, St. Jude Thaddeus, asking the saint to “show me my way in life.” In return, he pledged to one day build a shrine to the saint. The strength he gained from this prayer prompted him to move his family to Chicago to pursue his career.
In his promise to St Jude, the seed that would one day become St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was planted. Throughout his successes in films and television, including the multi-Emmy winning “Make Room for Daddy,” he never forgot his promise.
His shrine to St. Jude became a refuge for the sickest children in the world, a place where they would be cared for regardless of race, religion or creed — a hospital where no suffering child is turned away because of a family’s inability to pay.
Opened in 1962, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was the first institution established for the sole purpose of conducting basic and clinical research into catastrophic childhood diseases, mainly cancer. Today, the hospital maintains 60 inpatient beds and treats about 230 patients a day, most on an outpatient basis. It remains the largest childhood cancer research center in the world in terms of the number of patients enrolled in research protocols and successfully treated, bringing overall survival rates for childhood cancer from less than 20 percent in 1962 to more than 70 percent today.
“No child should die in the dawn of life.”
Danny Thomas
A DREAM CONTINUED
The Stanford family of companies were also founded on a promise that dates back many decades… a promise to always work hard with a clear vision and provide clients with constant and true value. But underlying this promise was an even deeper commitment to strengthen each and every community served by Stanford.
For the entire global Stanford family, nothing strengthens a community more than healthy, happy children. Following this 75-year legacy of strong community investment, Stanford named St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital its global Corporate Charity of Choice in 2006.
Among the many ways Stanford supports St. Jude, the company has assumed title sponsorship of the Stanford St. Jude Championship, the PGA TOUR event played in Memphis, Tennessee. Today, the Stanford St. Jude Championship is the one and only PGA TOUR stop that retains the name of the nonprofit beneficiary. In addition, Stanford’s vision for the future of the tournament and dedication to the St. Jude mission can also be glimpsed in the Eagles for St. Jude program. For every eagle made on the PGA TOUR, Stanford is making a donation to St. Jude.
Local Stanford offices lend their support to St. Jude by sponsoring fundraising events and initiatives in any Stanford market where they occur. On a global basis, Stanford is helping the hospital fight cancer by supporting the St. Jude International Outreach Program. The program helps develop pediatric oncology centers at partner sites in countries around the world and trains medical professionals to diagnose and treat childhood cancers, creating a life-saving force that spans the globe. Stanford is honored to continue Danny’s dream of finding cures and saving children.
“I believe nothing strengthens the community more than healthy, happy children. Nothing.”
Sir Allen Stanford