As the highest fundraising regional partner for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®, OnCue raised $367,000 during the annual St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® promotion. This well-known organization is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Throughout October, participating restaurants and retail locations asked customers to donate at the register to support the hospital’s lifesaving mission of finding cures and saving children. In exchange for contributing $1 or more, patrons received a pinup displaying a St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® patient.
To launch this year’s St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® philanthropic efforts, OnCue welcomed local, Oklahoma St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® patient Alexander and his mother Jillian to a meeting of all store managers to hear their story. Alexander’s irresistible humor and positivity radiated through the room as he and his mother spoke of their endurance and appreciation for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®. Their story and that of Joey, Alexander’s beloved stuffed dog, truly moved those in attendance, making the perfect kickoff for the company fundraising.
In addition to the pinup sales in stores, OnCue’s internal St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® Committee organized several events, including a companywide St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® walk in Stillwater, OK, the annual golf tournament and other internal fundraising efforts. Additionally, OnCue pledged to donate 50 cents for every limited-edition reusable cup sold to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® for the fifth year in a row. Since the partnership began in 2007, OnCue has raised more than $3,603,857 for the organization.
“It has been very special to hear the stories of how St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® impacts the lives of the families they serve around the country and here in Oklahoma,” said Laura Aufleger, President of OnCue. “St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® has done incredible work over the years to increase resources and information about childhood cancers, which has helped the survival rate to increase. We’re excited to continue our partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®, and we are grateful to our wonderful employees and customers who are committed to making a difference for the families of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®.” Treatments invented at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® 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. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® for treatment, travel, housing, or food because of fundraisers like the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® October Promotion.