Nov 18, 2020   SOURCE: PR NewsWire

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital tops $10 million in donations from AmazonSmile

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Nov. 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital(®)( )becomes the first AmazonSmile charity to reach the $10 million donation milestone through the program. At a time when online shopping has become more important than ever, the AmazonSmile program provides another way for consumers to give back to St. Jude every time they shop using AmazonSmile.

When a consumer shops at smile.amazon.com, or the Amazon mobile shopping app with AmazonSmile enabled, Amazon donates 0.5 percent of the price of eligible purchases to the consumer's chosen charity. To date, millions of AmazonSmile users have selected St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as their charity of choice.

"Those participating in the AmazonSmile program are giving hope to St. Jude families everywhere with every purchase they make, helping provide breakthrough research, treatment and cures in pursuit of our goal that no child dies in the dawn of life," said Richard C. Shadyac Jr., President and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. "We are beyond grateful for the generous spirit of Amazon, which has made possible these innovative programs that make it simple to support charities including St. Jude Children's Research Hospital."

As a supporter of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Amazon has delivered a variety of ways for consumers to support the lifesaving mission of St. Jude: Finding cures. Saving children.® In addition to the AmazonSmile program, Amazon has empowered Alexa device owners to make a donation to St. Jude by using voice commands, such as "Alexa, I'd like to make a donation to St. Jude."

"With a mission to find cures for children with cancer and other diseases through research and treatment, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is impacting the lives of their patients and also the patients' families in life-changing ways for healthier outcomes and a brighter future," said Piers Heaton-Armstrong, President of the AmazonSmile Foundation. "Through the AmazonSmile program, we are proud to have donated more than $10 million to St. Jude to help continue their mission-driven work."

In celebration of the upcoming season of giving, AmazonSmile customers can shop with a purpose to help St. Jude and other charities. Consumers can continue to show their support for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in several other ways:

    --  AmazonSmile Charity Lists gives shoppers a way to donate curated items
        directly to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Additionally, as part
        of the AmazonSmile program, Amazon donates 0.5 percent of the purchase
        price of eligible items shipped from St. Jude Charity Lists. This
        holiday season, Amazon will surprise and delight St. Jude patient
        families by "Delivering Smiles" and delivering wished-for Charity List
        items.
    --  Amazon Pay was added to the donation form for St. Jude Children's
        Research Hospital as an additional donation payment method alongside
        credit cards, checks and PayPal. Since June 2018, the payment platform
        has generated more than $3 million in donations for St. Jude.
    --  The St. Jude Store on Amazon offers a variety of St. Jude merchandise,
        from tumblers and T-shirts to lapel pins and St. Jude patient art
        inspired items such as phone cases.

In addition to these consumer-focused initiatives, Amazon has donated to St. Jude in other ways:

    --  In 2019, Amazon created an interactive STEM experience for St. Jude
        patients, Camp Amazon, which let kids play in a robotics pop-up lab on
        the campus of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
    --  A $500,000 donation during 2020 Childhood Cancer Awareness Month as part
        of the Amazon Goes Gold campaign, the second consecutive year Amazon has
        given a half-a-million-dollar donation to St. Jude during the September
        timeframe.
    --  This past September, an Amazon Goes Gold delivery truck delivered
        $20,000 in STEM gifts to the patient families at St. Jude.

Thanks in part to Amazon's efforts, no family ever receives a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food -- because all they should worry about is helping their child live.

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 percent to more than 80 percent since the hospital opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude won't stop until no child dies from cancer. St. Jude freely 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. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food - because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. Join the St. Jude mission by visiting stjude.org, liking St. Jude on Facebook, following St. Jude on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, and subscribing to its YouTube channel.

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SOURCE ALSAC/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital