How Much Money Goes To St Jude

We've all seen the commercials, featuring Marlo Thomas and Jennifer Aniston. But to really learn about the work being done at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, one of its corporate partners, Lancôme, invited a group of editors and bloggers to Memphis last week to see how the hospital is run, and how its patients live and spend their days.

1. In order to be treated at St. Jude Children¹s Research Hospital, a child must have a form of cancer or disease that is currently being researched there. The good news is that since Danny Thomas founded St. Jude in 1962, the survival rate for pediatric cancer has gone from 20 percent to 80 percent. St. Jude shares its research freely with any institution that wants it, and some forms of cancer that were once treated there can now be dealt with at other hospitals around the country. Patients must also be 18 and under, and have a referral from their doctor.

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Courtesy of Lancôme

2. Once a child is admitted their family never sees a bill. Not for treatment. Not for housing. Not for food. Ever. During a two-day visit with Lancôme, who has been working with the hospital since 2010, I heard several stories of children who arrived within hours of a diagnosis and stayed for years.

3. To make that possible, the hospital is funded by partnerships with corporations such as Lancôme, which raises money and awareness, as well as smaller individual donations that start at rounding up a few cents to make a dollar. All of those donations go toward operating costs, which are a staggering $2.2 million a DAY.

Courtesy of Lancôme

4. One of the many ways to get involved is totally free. From now until October 25th, post your hands making a heart and tag #LancomeLovesStJude on Instagram. The beauty brand will donate $1 for every tag. And from October 16th to 22nd, any purchases made at Lancôme counters or at lancome-usa.com will also yield at dollar that will go towards St. Jude.

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Courtesy of Lancôme

5. The hospital is located in Memphis, a city that was chosen for its centrality: most people can reach it by car in one day.

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Courtesy of Lancôme

6. Many of the patients live at Target House, in apartments with their parents and siblings. Various celebrities have designed and donated communal rooms, from Shaun White's rust-colored living area to Brad Paisley's hang out, with a table embedded with his guitar picks, to Amy Grant's music room, which houses her Grammy. A Dreamworks studio and Hasbro-designed playground are also part of the facility.

7. Blue phones sit at the entryway of Target House and in the hospital. They enable families to get translation services in several languages. As our tour guide pointed out, hearing medical terms in your native tongue is tough enough to process, and with international patients and families from all over the world, this is an invaluable service.

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Courtesy of Lancôme

8. There are seven executive chefs in Memphis, and three of them work for St. Jude. But they also work directly with families: one even recreated a little boy's favorite mac and cheese using a recipe supplied by his grandmother.

9. Several times a year, Lancôme sends makeup artists to work with teenage patients doing makeovers and helping them get ready for prom. Last Friday, makeup artist Mickey Williams visited and spent time with girls undergoing treatment. The purpose is to provide a moment of happiness during a difficult time, and it is in that spirit that you can see the hope that exists among the people who work and support the hospital and, by extension and most of all, the patients themselves.

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