Marlo Thomas celebrates Thanks and Giving's 20th year and $1 billion raised for St. Jude hospital
Actress and activist Marlo Thomas is proud that this year St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's Thanks and Giving campaign celebrates its 20th anniversary and passes the fundraising milestone of $1 billion to support the hospital’s efforts to provide...
NEW YORK — When families thank Marlo Thomas for the medical treatment they received at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, she kindly corrects them.
“I say, ‘Well, you know, I’m not a scientist, I’m a wheelbarrow,’” the actress, producer and activist says with a smile that has been famous since her days starring in “That Girl.” “I take the wheelbarrow, put the money in it and bring it to the scientists.”
And Thomas, who serves as St. Jude’s National Outreach Director, is a really good wheelbarrow.
This year, St. Jude’s Thanks and Giving campaign celebrates its 20th anniversary and passing the fundraising milestone of $1 billion to support the hospital’s efforts to provide free medical care to children with cancer. The drive, which kicked off earlier this month and runs through the holiday season, also raises awareness for the work of the Memphis-based hospital, which was founded by her father, the late “Make Room for Daddy” star Danny Thomas, who pledged that families would never be billed by St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food.
“That’s an amazing promise,” Marlo Thomas said. “And we’ve kept it.”
According to Fidelity Charitable’s annual ranking of the most popular nonprofits supported by its donor-advised funds, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital ranks No. 2, behind only Doctors Without Borders USA. Nonprofit ratings organization Charity Navigator says St. Jude ranks third among its most-followed charities, behind Doctors Without Borders and the
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