St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

This blog would not be complete without mentioning St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. When I first really learned about this organization, I was in my first marketing class and I wasn't sure if this was what I should major in. I wanted a business degree and marketing seemed interesting to me but there was a darker strictly about money side of business and marketing that made me consider switching majors.

But this story in my textbook about St. Jude put my doubts to rest. St. Jude is a remarkable organization. "It is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. No child is ever denied treatment because of the family's inability to pay." If that wasn't enough, the protocols they have developed helped increase childhood cancer survival rates from less than 20 percent when they opened to 80 percent today. St. Jude was ranked the number 1  pediatric cancer hospital by Parents magazine and the number 1 children's cancer hospital by U.S. News & World Report.

But of course all this care does cost money, and since patients do not have to pay it has to come from somewhere. In the average year 5,700 active patients visit the hospital and the average daily operating costs of St Jude is $1.6 million, most of which is covered by donations. And they are very efficient with these public contributions, 81 cents of every dollar received has supported the research and treatment at St. Jude." This orgnization relies heavily on individual donations but fortunately they also have a long list of corporate partners. This list of partnerships include over 60 companies including AutoZone, Jewelers for Children, Reebok, FedEx, and Target. 

In addition to partnering with companies, there have also been successful cause-related marketing campaigns ran by St. Jude. One of their most famous was "in 2004, St. Jude invited companies to be a part of the Thanks and Giving® campaign, an unprecedented union of celebrities, media retail and corporate partners that asks consumers to 'Give thanks for the healthy kids in your life, and give to those who are not.'”